Couples: Physical concerns forced Tiger to sit Saturday at Presidents Cup

After playing brilliantly in the opening two rounds at the Presidents Cup, Tiger Woods sat out all of Saturday with his team trailing.

The move shocked fans, as well as Woods' vice captains. They knew he would not play the morning session but were stunned to learn he was taking the entire day off because of physical concerns.

"At about 10 o'clock, Tiger said, 'Guys, my body's not going to let me go. I'm not going to play this afternoon,'" Fred Couples said Tuesday on SiriusXM PGA Tour radio.

Couples, along with Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson, tried to convince the captain otherwise.

"Stricker hopped on (the headset) and said 'Tiger, please. Go in right now and get loose and warm.' (Tiger) said, 'Strick, I can't do it.' Then Zach said, 'Tiger, are you sure?'" Couples recalled.

But Woods had faith despite his side's early struggles.

"(Tiger) said, 'I believe in the team,' and I'm like, 'Yeah, so do I, but I believe that you need to be playing Saturday afternoon,'" Couples said with a laugh.

After Woods bowed out, the American leadership was forced to come up with new pairings for Saturday afternoon's session. They won 3-1 to narrow the gap to two points ahead of singles matches. Tiger returned for Sunday's round and looked fantastic in his 3-and-2 win over Abraham Ancer.