Nicklaus Names President's Cup Picks
When it comes to the Presidents Cup, making the top 12 in the standings is as good as making the team.
Jack Nicklaus used his two captain's picks Tuesday night on Fred Couples and John Huston, the third straight time a U.S. captain has taken the 11th and 12th players on the points list.
Peter Thomson, the five-time British Open champion and captain of the International team, used his picks on Frank Nobilo and Greg Turner, both from New Zealand. The matches will be played Dec. 11-13 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia.
Nicklaus had hinted strongly that he would be hard pressed to take someone other than the next two players in line -- even if that someone was the U.S. Open champion.
"I said earlier I'd probably pick the 11th and 12th players on the list unless something unusual happened, and I don't think anything unusual happened except that Hal Sutton won the Tour Championship and played his way onto the team," Nicklaus said.
"I would have liked to have had our U.S. Open champion, but I didn't think it would be fair to pick somebody ahead of Lee when Lee didn't make the top 12."
The U.S. standings were based on money earned the past two years, with the dollar doubled in 1998. The International team -- every country except Europe -- was determined by the world rankings.
Couples, who won twice this year, was 10th going into the Tour Championship but was knocked out of an automatic berth when Sutton won the $720,000 first prize. Couples has a 6-1-0 record in two Presidents Cups and has played on every Ryder or Presidents Cup team since 1989.
Huston had to use a one-time exemption for being in the top 50 in career money to stay on tour this year. He made the most of it by setting the PGA scoring record in Hawaii with a 28-under 260, then won the Disney Classic two weeks ago. He closed with a 68 on Sunday in the Tour Championship to tie for 11th.
Huston finished $25,799 ahead of Janzen, who is developing a stigma as "Mr. Hard Luck" when it comes to national teams.
Lanny Wadkins overlooked Janzen in favor of Curtis Strange for the 1995 Ryder Cup team. Two years ago, Janzen also finished 13th in Presidents Cup standings, and captain Arnold Palmer took the players at 11 and 12 -- David Duval and Kenny Perry.
This time, Janzen had only himself to blame. After winning the Open at The Olympic Club and tying for tird a week later in the Western Open, he never finished higher than a tie for 24th the rest of the year.
"I knew Lee hadn't been playing particularly well," Nicklaus said. "I still would have liked to have had Lee on the team. He's a great competitor. But he didn't play well enough to do it."
What probably hurt Janzen the most was a television viewer who called in to report a possible rules violation during the World Series. Janzen had a birdie putt hang on the lip in the first round, waited for what was later timed at 20 seconds before watching the ball drop.
The rule says a player must tap in after 10 seconds when the ball is overhanging part of the cup. Janzen was disqualified and given last-place money -- $18,475 -- but it didn't count as official money.
Nicklaus also considered Tom Lehman, who has played on every national team since 1994. Lehman hurt his shoulder in the British Open and had to miss nearly two months on tour while he recovered. Still, Nicklaus couldn't find a reason to leave Couples or Huston off the team.
"If I had somebody in the 11th position who was not playing well at all, then I might not select them," Nicklaus said. "Both Fred and John have had good years, and that made the selection a lot easier."
That wasn't the case for Thomson, although the International players don't always play the same events -- or on the same tours -- week after week, making it difficult to compare.
Thomson then bypassed Frankie Minoza of the Philippines in favor of Frank Nobilo. He then went down two more notches to take Turner, looking for two players who might be compatiable in alternate-shot and best-ball matches.
Nobilo has played in the last two matches and has a 3-6-1 record. The United States has won both times.
"In the end, I chose Nobilo for his maturity and his record in the cup, and the fact he's keen and eager to be in it," Thomson said. "Once he was chosen, then it was my decision to put Turner with him over all the others that were in contention."