Woods, Els to be Cup captains in Melbourne

Tiger Woods and South Africa's Ernie Els are set to be announced as rival captains for the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia.

Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods is set to be named as US captain for the 2019 President's Cup to be held in Melbourne. (AAP)

The 2019 Presidents Cup in Melbourne has received a major boost with golf greats Tiger Woods and Ernie Els set to be unveiled as opposing team captains.

The biennial teams event, to be held at Royal Melbourne Golf Club next year, could also see Woods become the first playing captain in the Cup's history.

Coming off a tie for second at last week's US PGA Tour event in Tampa, Florida, 14-time major winner Woods will have every intention of being on a 12-man American side gunning for its 11th Presidents Cup title.

Woods and South Africa's Els are due to be announced as captains on Tuesday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Florida's Bay Hill.

Career rivals Woods and Els famously duelled at the 2003 Cup in South Africa, when they were chosen for a play-off and were tied after three holes before the event was deemed a draw.

The announcement is a much-needed shot in the arm for the struggling tournament, which has been heavily lopsided since its inception in 1994.

The Internationals team have tasted Presidents Cup victory just once - at Royal Melbourne in 1998 - and last year's 19-11 thumping in New York was their seventh straight defeat.

It has also been heavily overshadowed by the Ryder Cup, which sees Europe pitted against America.

It prompted four-time major winner Els, an assistant captain to Nick Price in New York, to call for sweeping changes ahead of the showpiece in Melbourne.

Els demanded an overhaul of "logistics, scheduling, selection process (and) course set-up" when he took aim at the PGA Tour, who runs the event.

"The Presidents Cup is owned by the PGA Tour, but we have to be more in control," said Els.

"There's got to be a two-way street; we just want to be treated fairly.

"Maybe we should have our own selection process; picking six guys and six guys qualifiers ... instead of being dictated by the Tour."


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Source: AAP



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Woods, Els to be Cup captains in Melbourne | SBS News