(Reuters) – United States Presidents Cup captain Davis Love III on Wednesday named Zach Johnson and Fred Couples as assistants for the biennial showdown against the International team at Quail Hollow in September.
Both Couples and Johnson, who was recently named United States captain for the 2023 Ryder Cup, are no strangers to the Presidents Cup having each made four appearances as players.
Couples also served as U.S. Presidents Cup captain three consecutive times (2009, 2011, 2013) and will serve as a captain’s assistant for a fourth time.
Love and Couples were Presidents Cup team mates in 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2005.
“It has been an honour to serve as captain’s assistant for the past three Presidents Cups, and I’m excited to partner with one of my closest friends in Davis Love to help the U.S. Team retain the Cup in 2022,” said Couples in a statement.
Johnson, a 12-time PGA Tour winner with his last victory coming at the 2015 Open Championship at St Andrews, will bring valuable insight about the Charlotte, North Carolina layout that will be used for the Sept. 20-25 competition, having played the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow 14-times.
“I’m excited to return as captain’s assistant for the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow,” said Johnson, who also served as assistant in 2019.
“Having played for Davis in past international events, I know how passionate he is about creating a tremendous atmosphere for U.S. Team players to have success, while also ensuring we are prepared to compete each day.”
Led by playing captain Tiger Woods, the U.S. beat Internationals 16-14 at Royal Melbourne in 2019 to claim an eighth successive Presidents Cup.
The U.S. has dominated the competition winning on 11 of the 13 occasions it has been held.
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto. Editing by Toby Davis)
