PGA Tour announces 2013 Presidents Cup captains

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem made a special announcement yesterday from Muirfield Village Golf Club, the host of this week's Memorial Tournament and the 2013 Presidents Cup.

The commish formally announced that Fred Couples and Nick Price will captain the U.S. Team and International Team, respectively, when the two sides meet for the 10th time.

Fred Couples, who captained the U.S. Team to victories in 2009 and 2011, will return as captain for the 2013 Presidents Cup.

I know that most of the guys on the team or all of them probably were in his face or in his pocket to have me possibly be the captain again, which makes me feel very good.

But just to be here, I did win this tournament, Jack's place at Memorial, and without being on the team as a player, there's nothing better to be a captain. And for me personally, to be up against Nick Price, who is one of my all?time favorites, will be a thrill. I know he'll have the time of his life just like I have.

And then to end it with all that, just to be able to do it a third time, I can't express it enough. The Champions Tour has been great, but to be able to come back at my age and captain this thing three times is truly an honor, and I want to thank Tim for his belief in me to be able to run our team.

Nick Price, who participated in five Presidents Cups as a player, will captain the International side for the first time next fall. He replaces Greg Norman, who went 0-2 as captain against Fred Couples.

You know, my first inaugural Presidents Cup, I knew it was going to be something special. It was?? everybody we played that year didn't really figure out what was going on and how it was working, especially the international guys because we had never played in any event of that magnitude. But as the years progressed, it turned into its own character, and it was a lot of fun for all of us who represent so many different countries to bond together and have camaraderie.

The win that we had in 1998 was just phenomenal. If I could recreate that feeling again for the guys who play at any time, it would just be very special because you never forget those moments. I think Jack remembers how much celebrating we did after that, but we had a great time.

Again, it's my honor to be nominated as captain but also to come back to Muirfield. This is a wonderful golf course, and I think we'll have a very exciting Presidents Cup.

I am surprised Fred Couples was selected to captain the U.S. side for the third year in a row. He's obviously a great captain, but I thought the PGA Tour would give someone else the opportunity to captain. That said, I fully expect Freddie to do another great job and there is a good chance he will improve to 3-0 as captain.

Nick Price faces an uphill battle as a rookie captain. He has plenty of Presidents Cup experience as a player so he knows first hand that the biennial event has been one-sided since its inaugural event in 1994. The lone victory for the International Team came in 1998 at Royal Melbourne and Nick Price was a member of that team.

The 2013 Presidents Cup is just over 15 months away so it's hard to get too excited about the announcement, but I think both captains are deserving and will do a great job come next September.

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Image via Flickr, Secret in the Dirt

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[ comments ]

Banker85 says:
no one cares about the president's cup in a presidents cup year let alone a ryder cup year. nice try.

5/30/12

badcaddy says:
i think it's a mistake for Freddie to take the captaincy again. he's made it clear he would like to be a Ryder Cup captain, and i think this hurts his chances of that.

5/30/12

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