To Pick Or Not To Pick?

Although never viewed with the same awe as the Ryder Cup, for those who play the President's Cup it is a highlight of the year. It allows international players the chance to experience something of that team golf feel that the Ryder Cup split denies them. One of the great shames in golf is that legends such as Gary Player, Peter Thomson, Bobby Locke, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh never played a Ryder Cup, and for the new generation - Jason Day, Adam Scott, Charl Schwartzel - the same applies. Two greats will face off as captains this year, with Fred Couples and Greg Norman taking the reigns.

The big story of the match so far is Fred Couples' selection of Tiger Woods as one of his two wildcards picks, which he both decided and announced publicly several weeks in advance of the due date. Both the pick and its manner drew much criticism, not only from the media, but also from Couples' own team, with senior man Phil Mickelson protesting on behalf of 2011 U.S. PGA winner Keegan Bradley, who can count himself unlucky to miss out on a seat on the plane to Australia.

Bill Haas took Couples' second pick, and after a playoff FedEx win which involved two incredible par saves before taking it at the 3rd hole, it's tough to say he doesn't deserve it.

What about Tiger? Can Couples justify picking a man in such poor form, who hasn't been playing much golf? The arguments against are obvious. Since that famous car crash in 2009, shortly after the last edition of the President's Cup, he has shown little form at all, his best finishes coming through a couple of hard-fought major top-10s. Respect amongst his peers is not what it was, and he has certainly lost the aura that he had when winning 14 majors. As players like Day, Schwartzel and Graeme McDowell have shown, youngsters today are no longer afraid to take him on down the stretch.

So why do Fred Couples and I think he should be on the team?

He is the greatest player of the generation, and arguably the greatest player of all time. No one has exerted the dominance over quality opposition in the same way as Woods. While that dominance may be at an end, he showed flashes of brilliance over the last year that tells us that he is not yet done. Matchplay is the perfect format for Tiger at the moment - he can afford a couple of errors as long as he can come back strongly, and no one has a mental approach like him.

He took the maximum 5/5 points from his last President's Cup appearance, when he played the four team games with Steve Stricker, and there is no doubt that the U.S. have finally found the perfect partner. Corey Pavin kept the partnership together at Celtic Manor last year, and was rewarded with Tiger returning 3 points from 4.

That Ryder Cup appearance came after the revelations, after his slump in form, after that disastrous performance at Firestone; the lowest point of his playing career. In the team scenario, he was able to pull himself together and build a telling partnership with Stricker, before taking out Miguel Angel Jimenez in the singles. Couples is banking on a similar performance in Melbourne - it is a strange reversal of the days where those said that Tiger couldn't play good team golf, that singles was where he belonged - a good dose of team golf might be just what he needs.

We all know that Tiger is not what he once was. We all know that an era is over. We disagree on his future - I remain convinced that he has another green jacket with his name on it, and maybe some of the other top prizes as well. The imminent drop out of the top-50 in the world should not be seen as too diabolical an omen - he will be back. To what degree, not even he knows. But he will be back, and this vote of confidence from Fred Couples might be just the fillip to get him going again.

One more reason to pick him? Who can wait now for the President's Cup?

In The Prime Of Life

You can never write off Miguel Angel Jimenez. At 46, some of us thought that the charismatic Spaniard might be beginning to drift down the list of superstars and start thinking about the Seniors Tour in a few years. Obviously we never told him. The cigar-smoking, ponytailed, crocodile-skin-shoe wearing "Mechanic" showed us all today that he's still out there hunting titles. After a missed cut and a T-60 to start 2010, Jimenez got his game together and finally got his name on the trophy that has just eluded him three times. A final round 72 on a difficult day was enough to get into a playoff with Lee Westwood, and then we saw his true class. Outpowered on the 18th hole - the scene of the first two playoff holes - Jimenez stayed in it with a couple of gutsy pars, and while Westwood failed to convert twice. A bogey on the 9th cost the Englishman dearly, as Miguel Angel coolly slotted home from four feet to win.

Jimenez is just great fun to watch, not just for his style but for his intense competitiveness. When he gets on a roll he'll just knock down the flagsticks all the way round. I'd written him off for Celtic Manor later this year, and although he's got some competition from the new generation, he's not going to let them have it all their own way. He held them off today, and he looked like he enjoyed it.

Westwood will be kicking himself - he had his chances and didn't take them. He did well to get his composure back after back-to-back bogeys on the home nine, but he came up just short once again. He's really starting to putt well this year, and added to his already classy long game, we all know he's going to win a few this year, and maybe one of the big ones.

Rory McIlroy couldn't get it going on the greens today, but it was a sterling defence of his title nonetheless. Finishing in a tie for 6th place, McIlroy will look back on what could have been so much more - he didn't take his chances early on in the round and the last four or five holes sealed his fate. We have to remember, though - he's still a relative newcomer to the Tour, and the level of his consistency is incredible. Last season, he notched up a dozen top-5 finishes, and this year he's started with a 3rd and a 6th. He's one of those guys who's always there or thereabouts, and even when you watch him missing greens and putts you find out he's only a shot or two back. You don't have to win every event you play, and if you're throwing in top-10s consistently you won't be far off the titles. Jack Nicklaus - we all know the 18-major stat - what about the 19 major runner-ups?

I've picked Martin Kaymer and McIlroy before as the two players to be at the summit of European and World golf in 10 years time - the young German gave another stellar performance today. Like McIlroy, he couldn't do quite enough to match Westwood and Jimenez, but a 4th place finish included some fabulous play. He's an absolute joy to watch - his swing and temperament are as calm as each other, and when he gets a sniff of victory he's after it in a shot. Many more wins are just around the corner.

Spare a thought for Alvaro Quiros - he looked in control after hitting the 13th in two - 3 holes later he'd taken 9 putts and his week was over. Once you saw him miss the first short one you felt he was shaken, by the time he left himself the third one it was just a cruel joke. Quiros has oodles of talent, but he got a tough lesson today - the mental game down the stretch is pretty tough. He got to see Westwood deal with it today, and I've no doubt he'll be the better for it as the year goes on.

The other man to miss out was Thongchai Jaidee - the talented Thai missed from 5 feet at last to miss out on a spot in the playoff. He played great golf throughout the week, struggled today, but still did almost enough. Jaidee doesn't get the credit he deserves - he tends to put a couple of good months together each year - he'll be playing in the majors this year and will have to take advantage.

That's the end of the Gulf Swing - as always it delivered some incredible golf - we'd close finishes at each tournament. Next week is the inaugural Avantha Masters in India, before we go to Tucson for the World Matchplay. Tiger and Mickelson won't be in Arizona, but keep an eye on the guys in the hunt today - at least one of them's going to have a run at it.