My captain's picks

Paul Azinger lobbied for three extra weeks and two more choices in finalizing the American Ryder Cup team with the hottest possible players.

Obviously he has to take Vijay Singh.

Singh has be living in the U.S. almost as long as Anthony Kim has been alive, but sadly the winner of the first two playoff series events is ineligible because of the inconvenient truth that he is Fijian.

Mike Weir is off the table as well. As is Camilo Villegas. And Sergio Garcia is unfortunately on the European squad.

So in the absence of any hot Americans, if I were Azinger I would go more with my gut than with the money standings. My gut says ...

Pick 1: Steve Stricker. He would be among Azinger's top 8 if the deadline were today, and with his putter he is the most obvious choice. He deserves a place. No brainer.

Pick 2: Hunter Mahan. Forget the comments Mahan made to Golf magazine about some of the unpopular elements of the Ryder Cup. Azinger, of all captains, should never hold it against somebody for having a loose tongue. Mahan is young and talented and played well in the Presidents Cup. And if we start punishing guys for saying what they actually think instead of some carefully vetted PR BS, than who are we really punishing? And this team needs more youth.

Pick 3: Scott Verplank. Who cares where Verplank is in the standings or what he did last week. Verplank is the closest thing the U.S. has to a perfect Ryder Cup team player. He is steady and reliable and can put the ball in the fairway when absolutely necessary. And he elevates his partners. That's what match-play is about, and if Verplank had been used better in Ireland last time the outcome might have been different.

Pick 4: Rocco Mediate. This American team needs a good cheerleader, and there's none better that Rocco. He proved what he can do under pressure in the final round and 18-hole playoff against Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open. With Tiger injured, Rocco is the closest American to winning a major this year. But he would bring energy and enthusiasm to the locker room and the American galleries will love him.

Those are my choices (in order of comfort level) I would be willing to live with if I was Zinger.

I understand he will probably pick J.B. Holmes because he is in love with his length and thinks the Kentucky crowds will back him. But the Ryder Cup galleries are from all over the place (about as local as the patrons at Augusta) and Holmes is not a warm, cuddly or even likeable figure. He imploded at the PGA under pressure, and the Ryder Cup is even more pressure than a major.

However, Holmes does have one intriguing quality that could benefit the U.S. in Valhalla. He is spectacularly slow and his preshot quirks are the kind of thing that could get under the skin of a European foe (see Holmes' Phil-i-buster at Phoenix and his effort that infuriated Tiger in the match play). If Azinger can find a teammate who can stand to play with him, his length off the tee and on the tee box could be formidable.

We'll see today what is going on in Zinger's mind. My bet on his picks will be Stricker, Mahan, Holmes and D.J. Trahan. Later this month we'll be the judges.

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Azinger's first pick was Stricker. Duh.

Second pick is Hunter Mahan. Well done, Paul.

Third pick, J.B. Holmes. Hmm, we'll see.

Fourth pick, Chad Campbell. Holy ....!!!! Wow. This is the most uninspired pick EVER. Campbell will not scare anyone from Europe.

Zinger did say he was going to pick the hottest player and Campbell did eagle his last hole on Monday.