Azinger Is Surprise Addition to U.S. Team

Paul Azinger became the lowest-ranked U.S. player selected to golf’s Presidents Cup when he was announced Monday as one of two wild-card selections.

Presidents Cup captain Ken Venturi chose Azinger, 24th in the rankings, and Loren Roberts to round out the U.S. team that will try to recover from an embarrassing loss to the International squad.

“He’s a leader, he’s a team man, he’s a wonderful match player,” said Venturi, a former U.S. Open champion and longtime CBS Sports analyst. “I feel this could be his swan song, and I’ll get more than 100% from him.”

International captain Peter Thomson selected fellow Australians Robert Allenby and Steve Elkington, the latter questioned because Elkington will have hip surgery before the matches Oct. 19-22 at the Robert Trent Jones Club in Virginia.

Venturi said he considered Fred Couples as a pick until it was clear he was not on top of his game, missing the cut at the PGA Championship. Venturi also bypassed Chris Perry, David Toms, John Huston and Justin Leonard.