He’s one of the best the game has ever seen, and Tiger Woods is counting on his recent strong play to continue at the Presidents Cup in December in Australia. Woods, who is the captain of the American Presidents Cup team, announced he’s one of the four captain’s picks for the team, alongside Tony Finau, Masters winner Patrick Reed, and U.S. Open winner Gary Woodland.

Leaving himself for the last pick, Woods said he’d become the first playing captain since Hale Irwin in 1994.

“As captain, I’m going to choose Tiger Woods as the last pick on the team,” he said. “He’s made nine cups. I find it interesting I’m talking about myself in third person. I have dual roles and I had to get the respect of the players and they wanted me to play in the event. It’ll be difficult, but I have three amazing assistant captains … three great minds who help me when I’m playing.”

Woods, who recently won his 82^nd tournament on the PGA Tour, called the players he picked “great dudes, adding that, “We’re going to have a pretty solid team going down there.”

Woods commented on each of his picks, noting the role they’d play in the tournament.

The Nice Guys

Tony Finau, who is the 14^th-ranked player in the world, was praised by Woods.  “What a great team guy and overall a genuinely nice guy,” Woods said. “Everyone on the team wants to play with Tony.”

Woods called Gary Woodland, who won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach earlier in the year, a “competitive guy,” who many wanted on the team.

The Controversy

One surprise—and a pick that could be controversial—is “Captain America,” Patrick Reed. Reed’s presence at the 2018 Ryder Cup drew a lot of controversy after the golfer’s remarks about team captain Jim Furyk and some of the decisions being made. Still, Woods said Reed’s success in team play was too hard to overlook.

“He has a solid record in the Presidents Cup,” Woods said. “He bleeds red, white and blue and will do anything to get a point for you. He’ll give you everything he has.”

The move by Woods didn’t come as a surprise to Ernie Els, who is the captain of the International Team, which added Canadian Adam Hadwin to its ranks with his picks.

“He’s in good form, he’s a Masters champion, he’s won recently and he’s played in so many matches,” Els said. “Under the format, the rules, he only has to play once before Sunday, not that he’d like to play only once. But he could do that, and he’s got a very strong team around him and obviously a good captain. You know, I think it would be good for the event.”

Team Summaries

U.S. Team

Captain: Tiger Woods

Assistant Captains: Fred Couples, Zach Johnson, Steve Stricker

Player Roster: Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Matt Kuchar, Xander Schauffele, Webb Simpson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Cantlay

Captain’s Picks: Tony Finau, Gary Woodland, Patrick Reed, Tiger Woods

International Team

Captain: Ernie Els

Assistant Captains: K.J. Choi, Trevor Immelman, Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Weir

Player Roster: Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Marc Leishman, Abraham Ancer, Haotong Li, Cameron Smith, C.T. Pan

Captain’s Picks: Sunjae Im, Jason Day, Joaquin Niemann, Adam Hadwin

What’s Your Take?

Which team has the edge? Did Tiger and Ernie make the right picks? Who would you have selected? Tell us in the comments below!