Azinger Fills Out US Ryder Cup Team

At a news conference Tuesday morning, Paul Azinger announced his four captain's selections to the U.S. Ryder Cup team. And they are:

• Steve Stricker
• J.B. Holmes
• Hunter Mahan
• Chad Campbell

Stricker, Holmes and Mahan were believed all along to be strong candidates, and Azinger said as much at the press conference (as quoted by Golfweek):

"The (first three) selections were surprisingly easy for me. No one won a (post-PGA) tournament, with all the events won by foreign players. I picked Steve Stricker due to his superior statistics, Holmes because of his length and knowledge of Valhalla, and Mahan because he could have played his way out if he played poorly, but he didn't."

Holmes is a Kentuckian who has played extensively at Valhalla, and fellow Kentuckian Kenny Perry is already campaigning to be paired with Holmes.

Campbell is a bit of a surprise. A very good, very steady player, Campbell wasn't generating much "buzz" among golf observers in the run-up to the selections. But clearly Azinger saw something he liked. Specifically, a 66.

Of all the players he was considering for the fourth and final captain's pick, Azinger said Tuesday, Campbell played the best at Deutsche Bank, closing with a 66 and finishing seventh.

So the teams are complete. Here's how they look side-by-side:

Team USA Phil Mickelson Stewart Cink Kenny Perry Jim Furyk Anthony Kim Justin Leonard Ben Curtis Boo Weekley Steve Stricker J.B. Holmes Hunter Mahan Chad Campbell

Team Europe Padraig Harrington Sergio Garcia Lee Westwood Henrik Stenson Robert Karlsson Miguel Angel Jimenez Graeme McDowell Justin Rose Soren Hansen Oliver Wilson Ian Poulter Paul Casey

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