Couples wants Tiger to play more

US Presidents Cup skipper Fred Couples says Tiger Woods needs to prove himself in tournament play if he wants a captain's pick.

Fred Couples wants Tiger Woods in his Presidents Cup team - but with an unconditional proviso. Woods has played in every Presidents Cup since he first became eligible in 1998, but Couples says he must play in two or three tournaments before September 26 when the US team is due to be named With all the time Woods has spent on the sidelines with injury and personal problems during the past two years, he stands no chance of automatically qualifying via the standings for the USA's upcoming matches against Greg Norman's Internationals starting on November 17. His only way of gaining entry into the team is for Couples to make him one of his two wild card picks, but this in its self presents Couples with a ticklish problem. Woods has also missed out on qualifying for the end-of-season FedEx Cup play-offs and the HSBC Champions in China and right now he has only one tournament on his schedule - the Australian Open which tees off on November 10.. But that is only scheduled to be played in the week prior to the Presidents Cup - long after Couples has had to name his US team on September 26. With every good reason, if you take into consideration Woods's bumbling performance in last week's USGA Championship where he missed the cut, the beleaguered former World No 1, the US skipper says, must find some tournaments and prove his fitness before the September 26 selection deadline. "He can't just show up the week before in Australia," said Couples. "I have made it clear that whoever I picked will be playing the Australian tournament the week before. But I need him to play more than just there. There's quite a few tournaments after the Tour Championship." Woods shouldn't have problems finding invitations to play in some events either on the European Tour or on the US PGA Tour's low-key, four-tournament, Fall Series which follows the FedEx Cup play-off series and provides Tour stragglers with a chance of picking up extra prize money and, with it, career-saving points as they bid to retain their Tour status for 2012. Couples has talked to Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, about playing more events and said: "We're going to figure out a way that we can get this done." "I really want him on the team based on my opinion that he's been the best player for 10 straight years," Couples added after pointing out that Woods won five points out of five in the 2010 Presidents Cup. "I don't think you can push him down because he's not playing maybe as well as 20 other guys that could be picked." "I'm the captain, and he wants to be on the team," Couples said. "This is my chance to hold my rank above him one time. And I'm going to do it. "Look, he has carried this tour for a long time. If somebody thinks it wrong if I end up picking him - which I probably will - they would be crazy. He doesn't want to go there and lose. He hates to lose. So he's going to do his best. "But I've got to push him to play a little bit so he'll do a little bit better." The 10 automatic qualifying places will be decided after the third FedEx Cup playoff event, the BMW Championship in Chicago, which finishes on September 18.