Phil Mickelson Is U.S. Captain’s Pick; Teams Finalized

Both the International and US Presidents Cup teams are finalized with the selection of the captains’ picks by U.S. Captain Jay Haas and International Captain Nick Price.

Haas selected Phil Mickelson, who was 30th in points, and his son, Bill Haas, who was 11th in points.

Price chose Australian Steven Bowditch, who was 11th in points, and Korean Sangmoon Bae, who was 19th in points.

“Phil has made the past 20 Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams without needing a pick,” Haas said of Mickelson. “He is without question the leader of our team in the team room, on the golf course.” He said the team members insisted on having Mickelson.

“My first Ryder Cup was with Jay Haas in 1995. I’m so happy to have an opportunity to play for him,” Mickelson said. “To have it come from input from so many players and assisting captains wanting me to be on the team means a lot to me that‑‑ I couldn’t put it into words.”

Selection of Bill Haas might have been viewed as controversial had he not been 11th on the points list.

“I’ll be honest, I would probably have picked the 11th person regardless what their name was,” Jay Haas said about selecting his son for the team.

The younger Haas said he did not get any sleep Monday night with the picks coming on Tuesday. The elder Haas said his wife’s stomach was in knots over the decision.

“Last week was very difficult being No. 11,” Bill Haas said. “I really, really wanted to be on this team, as I have in the past, but also to be in that team room with my dad as the captain, I don’t think it’s something that we, especially I, will ever, ever forget.”

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Bowditch won the AT&T Byron Nelson last May and the 2014 Valero Texas Open.

“I think he’s just hitting his stride as a player,” Price said. “I’m very excited to have him on our team.”

“It’s just been a dream, a dream of mine for a long time,” Bowditch said. “To be led by Jason Day and all his accomplishments of late, I’m just over the moon and so excited to get there.”

Price said the final pick came down to Matt Jones or Sangmoon Bae.
Bae came out on top because of his play the last two seasons and because Bae has won on the golf course where the Presidents Cup will be played.

“Also I think (it is) very important for us to have someone on the team that the Korean fans and media could pull for, ” Price added.

“I’m really honored to play, and I think we have a lot of chance to win this tournament,” Bae said.

One potential snag for Bae was his upcoming military duty. However, it had already been postponed so that he could complete this season.

“I will go to military service in this year after The Presidents Cup,” Bae explained.

Bae has two PGA Tour victories, The 2015 Frys.com Open and the 2013 HP Byron Nelson Championship.

U.S. Team, in order of points:

1. Jordan Spieth, 2. Bubba Watson, 3. Jimmy Walker, 4. Zach Johnson, 5. Jim Furyk, 6. Rickie Fowler, 7. Dustin Johnson, 8. Patrick Reed, 9. Matt Kuchar, 10. Chris Kirk.

Captain’s Picks: Bill Haas, Phil Mickelson.

International Team, in order of points:

1. Jason Day, 2. Louis Oosthuizen, 3. Adam Scott, 4. Hideki Matsuyama, 5. Branden Grace, 6. Marc Leishman, 7. Anirban Lahiri, 8. Charl Schwartzel, 9. Thongchai Jaidee, 10. Danny Lee.

Captain’s Picks: Steven Bowditch, Sangmoon Bae.

The Presidents Cup 2015 will be held Oct. 6-11 at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea.

(Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand or from official interview materials from the PGA Tour, USGA, R&A or PGA of America.)

Next: Haas Missed Mark With Presidents Cup Captain's Picks

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