Toms backs decision to pick Woods

DAVID Toms has defended captain Fred Couples’s faith in Tiger Woods for next month’s Presidents Cup, following a barrage of criticism over the struggling former world No 1’s selection.

Couples preferred Woods over a number of in-form candidates for one of his two captain’s picks, including USPGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley, despite the 14-times major champion’s failure to win a tournament in two years and ongoing form woes as he grapples to master a rebuilt swing.

Toms, a 13-time PGA Tour winner, said Woods would be the “best player in the world” if fit and in form.

“So if he’s working on his game and he feels healthy, I think he’s a great addition to the team,” added the 44-year-old.

“Any time that there’s a captain’s pick involved, there’s going to be a deserving player that gets left off because you can’t pick everybody.

“But I think it’s obviously something that Fred thought long and hard about. He’s talked to Tiger quite a bit about it, and I still think that Tiger, in a match play format, is very, very difficult to beat.

“And I’m not sure, as an opponent, you’d want to play him. So I think it’s a great pick.”