PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Captain Paul Azinger selected Steve Stricker, Hunter Mahan, J.B. Holmes and Chad Campbell Tuesday to complete the 12-player roster for the 2008 United States Ryder Cup Team. The foursome, three of whom are making their Ryder Cup debuts, join eight players who had earned automatic berths Aug. 10, following the 90th PGA Championship.
Azinger made his selections at The Radisson Martinique on Broadway in New York City, where The PGA of America was founded in 1916. He will guide the U.S. against Europe, Sept. 19-21, in the 37th Ryder Cup at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.
The U. S. Team features six players overall making their first appearance on a U.S. Team as it bids to reclaim possession of the Ryder Cup for the first time since 1999. Europe will start four Ryder Cup rookies.
“The last two years have been amazing,” said Azinger, who is the 25th U.S. Ryder Cup Captain. “I said all along we needed to change the selection process. I like who the top eight players turned out to be.”
Azinger said that Stricker is “a fantastic player. He’s playing extremely well, and had the selection process continued on the last three weeks, Steve would have actually made the team.
Hunter Mahan, Azinger said, “is a young lion, a terrific ball-striker . . he has a lot of heart and he’s going to add a lot to the team.”
Azinger described Holmes, a Kentucky native, as “a bomber. . .I think he fits match play, and he knows Valhalla like the back of his hand.”
Campbell, who Azinger also called “a terrific ball-striker,” currently ranks third in the all-around [PGA Tour statistical category]. “Every one on this list was supported by a lot of players and my assistants,” Azinger added. “I’m really excited about having these guys.”
Stricker, 41, finished ninth in the final Ryder Cup point standings and has five top-10 finishes in 20 events this season. His finish of a share of 13th was the best performance by any U.S. player last weekend in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Mahan, 12th in the Ryder Cup point standings, owns four top-10 finishes in 24 events; while Holmes, who was 17th in the point standings, captured the FBR Open last February and has three top-10 finishes in 23 events and ranks third on the PGA Tour in driving distance with a 310.4-yard average.
Campbell, 34, a member of the 2004 and ’06 Ryder Cup Teams, was 20th in the final U.S. Ryder Cup Team point standings. He has had six top-10 performances in 24 events this year.
The remaining players earning automatic bids are led by world No. 2-ranked Phil Mickelson, and joined in order of their finish in the U.S. Ryder Cup points standings by Stewart Cink, Kenny Perry, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim, Justin Leonard, Ben Curtis and Boo Weekley.
Stricker said that he had been on “the other end of phone call announcements” in the past, and had asked when he received a call Monday night from Azinger, “Is this a good call or a bad call?”
“I’m very much excited,” said Stricker. “I felt I had finished off the selection process well and now I look forward to playing.”
Mahan, who like Holmes is 26, had been critical of the Ryder Cup process though never having competed before. He said, however, that he now had “the best feeling in the world. I wish it would start tomorrow.”
“I think that Captain Azinger understood that what I had said earlier didn’t have my true feelings at heart,” said Mahan. “I still felt like I had a chance to make the team.”
Holmes will be joining Perry, each native Kentuckians, on the U.S. Team.
“To be able to play a course that you’ve played a lot and being in your home state, that’s just unbelievable,” said Holmes.
Campbell and his wife, Amy, are expecting their first child at any time, with the due date Wednesday.
“I’m pretty excited and I had felt like I was on the outside looking in,” said Campbell of his chances of earning a Captain’s selection. “I was happy that I played well over the past few months. I feel I’m playing as well as I’ve ever have.”
Mickelson will be making his seventh consecutive Ryder Cup appearance, while Cink will be making his fourth straight trip to golf’s preeminent event. Curtis, who shared second in the 90th PGA Championship, along with Kim and Weekley will be making their debut in the Ryder Cup.
The European Ryder Cup Team roster was completed on Aug. 31, with Captain Nick Faldo choosing Ian Poulter and Paul Casey to join 10 players who earned berths – Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, Robert Karlsson, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Graeme McDowell, Justin Rose, Soren Hansen and Oliver Wilson.
Hansen, McDowell, Rose and Wilson making their Ryder Cup debuts, while Europe’s veterans on the team own a combined 40-27-12 record. The United States’ Ryder Cup veterans – Mickelson, Cink, Perry, Furyk, Leonard and Campbell – have a combined 19-37-17 record.
Begun in 1927, The Ryder Cup is among the last great professional sporting events where winning, and not prize money, is its own reward. The United States, which owns a 24-10-2 advantage in the biennial competition, has not claimed possession of the Ryder Cup since 1999.
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FINAL 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup Point Standings
Place/Player Points Years/Ryder Cup Overall Record
Top 8 Positions Earn Automatic Berths
1 Phil Mickelson 5,342.500 1995, ’97, ’99 9-12-4
2002, ’04, ’06
2 Stewart Cink 4,952.665 2002, ’04, ’06 3-5-4
3 Kenny Perry 4,480.700 2004 0-2-0
4 Jim Furyk 4,423.892 1997, ’99, 2002 6-12-2
’04, ’06
5 Anthony Kim 4,035.296 Debut —
6 Justin Leonard 3,379.274 1997, ’99 0-3-5
7. Ben Curtis 3,120.061 Debut —
8 Boo Weekley 2,785.095 Debut —
9 Steve Stricker* 2,663.568 Debut —
12 Hunter Mahan* 2,304.517 Debut —
17 J.B. Holmes* 2,126.047 Debut —
20. Chad Campbell* 1,827.429 2004, ’06 1-3-2
* – Captain’s Selection
Contact:
Julius Mason
561/624-8444
jmason@pgahq.com
