With Weir leading way, International Team ready to defend home turf Sep. 26, 2007 Captains make picks; Austin gets wish, will play with Mickelson Print this page By Helen Ross PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents ILE BIZARD, MONTREAL, Canada -- Forget the passports they carry. As Vijay Singh said Wednesday afternoon, all 12 members of the International Team that will play in The Presidents Cup are Canadians. ross2.jpg Mike Weir presents a golf bag to Stephen Harper, the Prime Minster of Canada. (WIreImage) At least, for this week, that is. And the big Fijian has drawn this golf-crazed country's native son, Mike Weir, the man he beat in a playoff at the 2004 Bell Canadian Open, for his partner in Thursday's opening Foursomes. The two face Phil Mickelson, who will have played in all seven Presidents Cups when he hits his opening tee shot Thursday, and Woody Austin, one of the three U.S. rookies, in the second match of the afternoon at The Royal Montreal Golf Club. "We put in Mike Weir and Vijay because we know how popular Mike Weir is, and we wanted a lot of screams to be coming up whether he was making putts or not," said International Captain Gary Player. "Vijay is pretty long off the tee and Mike's swinging really well at the moment. ... They just liked the idea of playing together and we thought it was a good combination in Foursomes." The fact that Weir is 4-0 against Mickelson -- including a 4-and-3 win in singles in 2000 -- probably didn't hurt, either, although Player wouldn't take the bait when someone mentioned that stat. XM Interviews Woody Austin Trevor Immelman Scott Verplank Steve Stricker "I've played against him a lot, for some reason," Weir admitted. "And I've had some success against Phil. In 2000 in singles, I just played great, shot 6 or 7 under." "Obviously, he's one of the most popular sports persons in Canada," Singh said. "I'm looking forward to it, and hopefully, I get all of the support I can." Mickelson has a 2-1 edge on Singh, though, with both wins coming in the Four-Ball competition -- not that records matter that much in team competition, of course. He and Austin wanted to play together, and U.S. Captain Jack Nicklaus agreed. "I'm just like anybody else, especially being a rookie in this event," the 43-year-old Austin said. "I'm going to want to play with one of the best players in the world ... I found out he's played in them all. "He has all of the experience and he knows exactly what to do, and we get along great. So I think our personalities, we're going to have a lot of fun. And then I'm just going to jump on his back and he's going to carry me." ross3.jpg Phil Mickelson (left) will play with Woody Austin at 1:25 p.m. ET On Friday against Mike Weir and Vijay Singh. (WireImage) Nicklaus picked first on Wednesday and deferred to Player. The U.S. skipper waited until the final match before sending out the game's No. 1 player, Tiger Woods, and Charles Howell III, who went 2-2 as a team in 2003, to face K.J. Choi and Nick O'Hern, who has beaten Woods twice at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. Woods has won four of his last five starts, including the PGA Championship, as well as the inaugural FedExCup. Howell, on the other hand, has cooled off after a hot start that included a victory at the Nissan Open and two runner-up finishes in his first five events of 2007. "I think that Tiger and Charles played well in South Africa," Nicklaus said. "I think Charles has been in a bit of a bump since then, and he needs some help from somebody and I think Tiger is the guy to give it to him." Nicklaus said that he expects Woods to play with Jim Furyk, who partnered him to a pair of Four-Ball victories in 2005, later in the competition. Player sent out a pair of Aussies in Adam Scott and Geoff Ogilvy in the first match of the day, which he had planned to do regardless of what Nicklaus did with his pick. The U.S. captain countered with experience in Steve Stricker, who finished second in the inaugural FedExCup, and a rookie in Hunter Mahan. "Gary put a very strong team out," Nicklaus said. "We knew that. I think that outside of Tiger, I think the two fellas that probably are playing about as good of golf as there is in the world, as well as anybody is playing in the world today is Stricker and Mahan. "I think they are both itching to get out and play, and so that's why we put them there." Rory Sabbatini and Trevor Immelman, the two young South Africans who will play together in the World Cup later this year, were Player's choice for the third match. They'll face Americans Stewart Cink and Zach Johnson, who played together in Foursomes at the Ryder Cup last year. "It was just a natural for them to play together," Player said of the South Africans. "We knew that a good, solid calm team would be a good one to put in there," Nicklaus said of his choice. ross4.jpg Retief Goosen (pictured) is paired with Stuart Appleby. (WireImage) A contrast in styles can be found in the fourth match of the afternoon. Nicklaus picked steady-as-they-go David Toms and Jim Furyk and Player countered with big-hitters in Ernie Els and Argentina's Angel Cabrera. The two teams have six majors between them, including Cabrera's U.S. Open title earlier this year. Furyk might have some home field support, though, after successfully defending his Canadian Open presented by Franklin Templeton Investments title earlier this summer. "The way Angel hits the ball, I think anyone would want to play with him," Els said. "I've played with him a lot, and hopefully, I can work on my Spanish this week." Player took the advice of Assistant Captain Ian Baker-Finch and put Stuart Appleby and Retief Goosen together in the fourth match. Nicklaus opted for veteran Scott Verplank with rookie Lucas Glover and saved Woods and Howell for the finale. "Retief is playing a lot better," Player said. "And Stuart Appleby is feeling confident. That was Ian's suggestion, which I liked very much indeed." Verplank said he and Glover have played a lot of golf together. "We're very comfortable," he said. "I think that's a big part of it -- getting comfortable with your partner and having fun." Thursday Foursomes Number Time USA International 1 1:15 p.m. Mahan/Stricker Scott/Ogilvy 2 1:25 p.m. Mickelson/Austin Singh/Weir 3 1:35 a.m. Cink/Johnson Sabbatini/Immelman 4 1:45 p.m. Toms/Furyk Els/Cabrera 5 1:55 p.m. Glover/Verplank Appleby/Goosen 6 2:05 p.m. Woods/Howell III Choi/O'Hern Register Now | Help Sign Out? • Update Account • Help Presidents Cup Home Scoring Scoring Summary Thursday Foursomes Friday Four-Ball Saturday Foursomes Saturday Four-Ball Sunday Singles Individual Point Totals Tournament Information News Tee Times U.S. Team Profile International Team Profile Teams – How to Qualify Course LIVE@ / Video Schedule Official DVD Tickets Purchase Tickets Travel Packages Event Information Glossary Charity Corporate Hospitality Volunteer Information Parking / Local Information History Past Results Career Records Historic Photos STANDINGS Results Points US TEAM 0 INTERNATIONAL TEAM 0