Mickelson selected as captain for Presidents Cup, extending streak

Phil Mickelson was selected as a captain pick for the second straight Presidents Cup, extending a remarkable streak of playing on 23 consecutive U.S. teams.

Anirban Lahiri of India will play for the second time, and it might be just as meaningful.

U.S. captain Steve Stricker used his two picks Wednesday on Mickelson and Charley Hoffman, who finished a fraction of a point out of the top 10 automatic qualifiers in the final week. It will be the first team competition for the 40-year-old Hoffman.

Mickelson was in danger of missing his first Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup since 1993. He hasn’t won a tournament since 2013, and he hasn’t seriously contended this year while finishing 15th in the standings. Stricker had said he wanted the five-time major champion to show him something, and the 47-year-old Mickelson delivered at the TPC Boston with all four rounds in the 60s to tie for sixth.

The International team was on the verge of winning for the first time since 1998 when Lahiri had a 4-foot birdie putt on the last hole. Chris Kirk made a 15-foot birdie putt, and Lahiri’s putt to halve the catch caught the right lip and spun out. He dropped his putter and stared in disbelief with his hand covering his mouth. Now, he gets another crack at it. “That experience is really going to help me,” Lahiri said. “Obviously, I feel there’s some unfinished business. I’m motivated to go out there and make a positive contribution to the team.”

The matches start Sept. 28 at Liberty National in New Jersey, where Mickelson has a corporate membership.