Final captain's pick obvious one for Couples? No way

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Brandt Snedeker's career year -- and fine showing in the Playoffs -- puts him on Fred Couples' short list.

Fred Couples had no problem making Tiger Woods his first Presidents Cup captains pick almost a month ago. But Couples is holding his second choice as dear as his favorite putter.

Understandably, Couples wasn't about to announce his second pick during a teleconference Sunday night after the 10 automatic members of his team -- five of them Presidents Cup rookies -- were finalized at the BMW Championship. He even started the presser by saying he "wouldn't talk about the picks at all" because he doesn't have to announce them until Sept. 27.

But Freddie's thoughts and comments about the subject didn't take long to come out. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Couples said he would "spit this out once" and proclaimed that Brandt Snedeker, Bill Haas and PGA champion Keegan Bradley -- none of whom has played in the Presidents Cup -- as the leading candidates entering this week's TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola.

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Did Couples' order of names send a clue that Snedeker is first up on the pecking order? It seemed to be. "I think Brandt Snedeker and Bill Haas and probably Keegan Bradley are the three leaders in this three-ring circus right now to be the 12th guy. Brandt Snedeker has playing incredible golf and Bill Haas has, too. And of course, Keegan Bradley has won twice this year, including a major. He fought hard playing Saturday and Sunday here, and his name is right there."

But before we start reading between Couples' every word, understand that comes at your own risk. Couples, for instance, also said two-time Presidents Cup veteran Zach Johnson would have a chance if he won at East Lake. Problem is, Johnson didn't qualify for East Lake, so it seems we're back to the three players who shot a combined 15 over in Sunday's difficult, rainy conditions.

Snedeker, sixth in the FedExCup standings, played the best of the trio Sunday (74), but his T22 left him about $44,000 behind Furyk for the final automatic spot. Snedeker beat Luke Donald in a playoff at the Heritage, but has been inconsistent in this year's biggest tournaments: T11 at the U.S. Open, T15 at the Masters and a pair of T3s in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, but he also missed cuts at the PGA, British Open and THE PLAYERS.

Haas seemed destined to join his father, Jay, an assistant captain, on the U.S. team when he started Sunday's final round tied for third place. He needed to shoot no worse than 75 to lock up his first spot on an international team. But he shot a 42 on the back nine for a 78 that left a lot of sad faces and Couples defending the poor finish.

"I was on the phone with Jay Haas a lot today and hoping for the best for Billy," Couples said. "It's a struggle. I've been on these places where you want to make these teams so bad that you actually forget you're trying to win a golf tournament and I think that's what Bill was foremost trying to do today and let everything take care of itself."

But can Couples pick the son of an assistant captain -- who is 0-for-3 in match-play situations this year (he lost a pair of playoffs and also in the first round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship) -- without risking talk of favoritism?

On Saturday, Haas said he has yet to speak to his father or Couples about his delicate situation. "I have not heard from Freddie and I can honestly say I have not had one conversation with my dad about it," Haas said. "I think they both want me to play the best I can play and try to earn a spot, and then Freddie will make the right decision.''

Couples can still pick Haas, even if there are objections. You think Couples hasn't heard some complaints about his decision to hand a struggling Woods his spot so long ago? "It's all really irrelevant to me," Couples said of the reaction.

Most years, Bradley would be a lock as a captain's pick, having won a major among his two PGA TOUR titles this season -- with both victories coming in playoffs (i.e. match play). If Bradley wasn't a rookie, he would have easily qualified during the two-year points process. But consecutive missed cuts in the Playoffs by Bradley may have spooked Couples. Is that why he said "probably" when he listed Bradley as one of his three frontrunners?

Of course, with Couples, it's dangerous to read into any of his words too deeply. It's also very entertaining.

Craig Dolch is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.