Presidents Cup, Freddie asks Big Jack for Help
Jack Nicklaus Freddie Couples
Presidential Cup Captain for the U.S. team Fred Couples had asked the mighty Jack Nicklaus the 18-time Major championship winner, to be an assistant captain on the American side for the Presidents Cup on Oct. 4-6, 2013.
Big Jack had to decline the offer, due entirely to his responsibilities as Host of the tournament at Muirfield. Jack just wants to be a cordial, not involved and unhurried host for the event at the course he designed.
“Freddie paid me a nice complement by his suggestion, it was very thoughtful of him. I would love to, but I simply can’t. I have duties as host, so that would not be the right thing to do.”
Jack Nicklaus is a four-time U.S. captain in the Presidents Cup, and didn’t take Freddie seriously when he first proposed the idea. But Freddie was very serious.
“I wasn’t joking about it, when we were here at Muirfield Village last night, I said; Could I pick him? A couple of guys from the Tour said, ‘Yeah, he would love that.’ And then a couple other guys; maybe one pretty high up there said, He’s hosting the thing, he can’t do that. Then Jack winked at me and said, But I can be in your team room all you want.”
International captain Nick Price and Freddie Couples are friends, Nick joked about Freddie’s laid-back appearance;
“One thing you’ve got to be careful with Fred with his laid-backness, he wants to win as much as anybody. Even though he looks like he’s about to fall asleep on the golf course. I’m trying to figure out how we as the International Presidents Cup team can get that same buzz that the Europeans got on Sunday at The Ryder Cup.”
The Presidents Cup has taken on an enormity of it’s own, now that the Americans have lost the Ryder Cup, could they lose both tournaments in the same year ? Given the American dominance in this tournament it is unlikely, but; on Sunday the Americans were 200-1 on, to win the Ryder Cup, could lightning strike twice?
