ATLANTA – Phil Mickelson is going to the Ryder Cup.
As a vice captain, not as a player.
A tweet from the PGA of America’s Ryder Cup USA feed said Wednesday Mickelson and 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples have joined Team USA for the Ryder Cup Sept. 24-26 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
“I’ve been staying in close contact with both Freddie and Phil, talking about all things Ryder Cup, for a while now,” U.S. captain Steve Stricker said in a release linked to the tweet. “They provide honest and impactful feedback, and both have such a passion for the Ryder Cup.”
Stricker now has five assistant captains. The PGA of American confirmed that each team can only have five assistants per the agreement between the U.S. and Europe, so this means Tiger Woods will not be with the team as an assistant.
The other three assistant captains are 2012 and 2016 Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, 2018 Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk and Zach Johnson.
Mickelson, 51, had played in 12 consecutive editions of the Ryder Cup, his debut coming in 1995. The six-time major champion, winner of 45 PGA Tour titles and member of the World Golf Hall of Fame became the oldest player to win a major championship at this year’s PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.
Unfortunately, it was only one solid week – he didn’t have another top 10 in 2021. Mickelson spoke openly of his desire to make the team as a captain’s pick, but his last gasp efforts included a missed cut in the Northern Trust and a tie for 66th in the BMW Championship in the first two FedEx Cup Playoffs events.
In his U.S. record 12 appearances, he was 18-22-7 in a U.S. record 47 matches.
Couples, a winner of 15 PGA Tour titles, will be making his second appearance as a vice captain after serving in 2012. In his five editions as a player, he was 7-9-4.
Patrick Cantlay, who won last week’s BMW Championship, inadvertently said during his victory press conference that Couples was going to be an assistant.
“I’m excited,” Cantlay said when asked about securing an automatic spot on U.S. team with his win in the BMW Championship. “Fred Couples texted me this week and said it looks like he’s going to be one of the assistant captain, and so he’ll be up there.”
Cantlay is one of six automatics, the others being Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, and Brooks Koepka.
Stricker will make six captain’s picks Sept. 8.