• Presidents Cup

Couples hands Tiger a Presidents Cup place

Fred Couples will have a difficult choice to make with his final wildcard © Getty Images

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Captain Fred Couples has promised Tiger Woods a place in the United States team for the forthcoming Presidents Cup in Melbourne.

Speculation had been rife that Woods could be set to miss out on inclusion for the team event, which takes place in Melbourne in November. Only ten Americans qualify automatically for the team and, with Woods 28th on the current list and unlikely to get a chance to improve his ranking, the 35-year-old was relying on one of the two available wildcard selections in order to make the trip to Australia.

Couples has now revealed that Woods will indeed be one of his picks - believing that you cannot overlook the 14-time major champion, regardless of his recent slump in form.

"I told him that he's going to be on the team," Couples said. "The question came up and there's no reason for me to wait until September 26 to pick Tiger.

"He's the best player in the world forever. Is he playing well right now? No.

"He almost won Augusta four months ago, so you don't do that by playing poor golf."

That will leave Couples with one other wildcard available to complete his 12-man team - with US PGA champion Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler and Zach Johnson among a number of prominent names vying for the spot as they are not currently in the qualification places.

Earlier in the week, Woods seemed to intimate that he would like to be named in the team - despite previously acquiring a reputation as someone who had a disdain for team events like the Presidents and Ryder Cup.

"Hopefully I'll get picked for the Presidents Cup team," Woods wrote in his blog. "I've had some conversations with US captain Fred Couples, and we'll see how it goes. Of course, I want to be on the team.

"It's always fun to play for your country. I'm just going to keep practising and try to get better. It's Freddie's call, and he can make any choice he wants."

The event's venue is convenient for Woods - he is due to play in the Australian Open in Sydney the week before.

The Presidents Cup is a team competition between the United States and the Rest of the World, which takes place every other year. The US won the most recent event in 2009, beating their opponents 19.5-14.5 at Harding Park in San Francisco.

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