Davis Love III yesterday completed his backroom team for next month's Ryder Cup by naming Scott Verplank and Jeff Sluman as his final two assistant captains.
They join Fred Couples and Mike Hulbert for the competition at Medinah in Chicago, on September 28-30, when Jose Maria Olazabal's Europe team, will try to retain the trophy they won back at Celtic Manor two years ago.
Olazabal has yet to name any of his four assistants, preferring to wait until he knows certain individuals cannot make the side on points. Miguel Angel Jimenez, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn and Darren Clarke are thought to be the front-runners for the positions, with McGinley also the favourite to succeed Olazabal as captain for the 2014 contest at Gleneagles.
Love III also gave strong hints that Hunter Mahan, Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk will be three of his four wild card picks and that Rickie Fowler may edge out Dustin Johnson for the final spot.
Stricker is Tiger Woods' obvious partner, Love said that Furyk "can be paired with anybody" and he added that Fowler and Bubba Watson offered a source of light relief to the US side in Wales. "They had a lot of fun; they loosened up our team," Love III said.
"Obviously Bubba and Rickie go well together in everything they do, on and off the golf course. Maybe not that well in those videos, but they go very well together."
The pair were involved in a music video with Mahan, the player whose defeat by Graeme McDowell cost the US last time, and who finished the United States team points race just outside the top eight. He was ninth and was followed by Stricker, Furyk and Fowler, with Johnson in 15th after missing part of the season through injury.
"We are going to need guys with experience," Love III added. "When you look at our top 15 or 20, some names jump out at you, like Hunter has won twice this year. Hard to believe he didn't get in there on points."
Love III names his choices on September 4 after the first two events of the FedEx Cup play-offs. That gives some others the chance to impress, although Love III did admit that he was asked by the PGA of America not to announce any of his squad before then. "We wanted September 4 to be fun," he said.
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