Mickelson: I don’t deserve a wildcard pick for Presidents Cup

Phil Mickelson has said he has not ‘done enough’ to ‘deserve’ a wild card pick for the Presidents Cup, stating that Captain Tiger Woods has ‘much better options’

With just a few weeks left before Presidents Cup teams are confirmed, Phil Mickelson says he isn’t expecting to be chosen as one of Captain Tiger Woods’ four wildcards. 

Speaking during a Press Conference at the CJ Cup, Mickelson – who has made every single one of the past 24 Presidents and Ryder Cup teams  – said he feels he hasn’t ‘done enough’ to be chosen.

“I have not played well in the last seven, eight months,” said Mickelson, who has recorded just one top 20 finish (a T18 at the Masters) on the PGA Tour since claiming the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. If he doesn’t play well this week, he could fall outside of the World’s top 50 for the first time since 1993. 

“There are much better options of players that have played consistently at a high level that deserve to be on the team and I have not… even if I were to win (this week), I have not done enough to warrant a pick.

“I’m not asking for one, I don’t expect one. I think there’s a lot better options for the US side.

“I would like to add that I am starting to play much better golf and I’m excited about this upcoming season and I’m excited about making the Ryder Cup team next year and I plan on doing that.”

U.S Presidents Cup Team: Who is in the running?

Woods only has three weeks of competition – the CJ Cup, ZOZO Championship and World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions – before he has to make his decision on the wildcard picks on November 4th.

Mickelson isn’t the only experienced player likely to miss out though, as both Jordan Spieth and Bubba Watson look unlikely to be heading to Australia without an impressive couple of weeks.

Other players who didn’t automatically qualify for the team include U.S Open Champion Gary Woodland, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed, Kevin Kisner and young emerging stars Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff.

In addition to those potential players is Tiger Woods himself, who has always indicated that he wants to be a playing Captain. 

A few weeks ago he penned a Captain’s Blog Post for the PGA Tour, and while he name-checked plenty of players who could well be on the team, his sign-off (which had the word Captain scored out and replaced with ‘ Playing Captain’) indicated that he still very much hopes to be one of them.

“We will be watching the fall events closely,” Woods had said. “There are so many guys who are world-class players who aren’t yet on the team like Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Gary Woodland, Jordan Spieth and many more. The Fall events will also allow me to get extended looks at two young rookies, Matthew Wolff and Colin Morikawa, who both played well after turning pro late in the season.”

Speaking with The Post-Crescent, Tiger Woods’ longtime caddie Joe LaCava revealed he is still undecided on his picks, and whether he will be one of them.

“If I knew I would tell you, and if he knew he would tell us,” LaCava said this week. “I think he wants to wait to see how he plays in Japan. I think he wants to see how the guys are playing outside the top eight between now and Nov. 1 when he makes his picks.”

U.S Presidents Cup Team: Automatic Qualifiers 

Brooks Koepka
Justin Thomas
Dustin Johnson
Patrick Cantlay
Xander Schauffele
Webb Simpson
Matt Kuchar
Bryson DeChambeau