Rory and Tiger could meet in Presidents Cup

(AP) — One of the intriguing aspects of the Presidents Cup is that the captains fill in the players one game at a time, instead of blind draw, meaning they can orchestrate matches. That led to Tiger Woods playing Ernie Els in South Africa, and Fred Couples playing Vijay Singh in 2005.

The most famous incident came in Australia in 1998, when Greg Norman told captain Peter Thomson he did not want to play Woods because the Shark was not at full strength, and Woods told captain Jack Nicklaus that he wanted Norman.

"There was two pairing left, and Peter Thomson was picking first. So Norman was had," Nicklaus said recently. "And Norman said, 'Why did you do that to me?' I said, 'Hey, you're not my team. You're a friend of mine, but that's beside the point. Tiger had requested, if I can, to get you for him. Have a good day."'

Once the laughter subsided, International captain Gary Player came up with a brilliant idea.

"Now I might have to do the same thing with Rory Sabbatini and Tiger," he said at a media day in Montreal.

That might be the most compelling match of the Sept. 27-30 event. Sabbatini has been needling Woods all year, saying he looked "more beatable than ever" after Woods had beaten him at the Wachovia Championship. Woods beat him again last week at Firestone.

Asked what he would make of such a presidential pairing, Sabbatini welcomed the idea.

"You either take down the best player," he said, "or you sacrifice yourself for the rest of the team."