HARRISON, August 18, 2011 (AFP) - American Presidents Cup team captain Fred Couples is urging Tiger Woods to enter more tournaments and says he will pull rank if need be to make sure Woods is at the top of his game.
"I'm the captain, and he wants to be on the team," said Couples. "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. (...) He doesn't want to go there and lose. He hates to lose. So he's going to do his best," he added.
"But I've got to push him to play a little bit so he'll do a little bit better."
Woods failed to make the cut at the PGA Championship last week and also failed to make it into the FedEx Cup playoffs. The PGA Championship was just Woods' second tournament in eight weeks.
Speaking at a senior golf tournament on Wednesday in New York, Couples said he wants Woods on the team but not if he just shows up at the Australian Open a week before Presidents Cup matches, set for November 14-20 in Melbourne.
Woods, who has played every Presidents Cup since he first became eligible in 1998, has already said he would play the Australian Open.
"He can't just show up the week before in Australia," Couples said.
"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."