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Mr Teacher's Pet and Mr Grind: The US line-up

James Corrigan
Friday 22 September 2006 00:00 BST
Comments

CHAD CAMPBELL Texas

Age: 32. Caps: 1 (2004). Record: P3 W1 L2. World ranking: 22. Majors: 0.

MR POTENTIAL: A major waiting to happen, Campbell is the only Texan in existence whose class is bigger than his hat. Lehman expects plenty for this big-hitter with ice in his veins.

STEWART CINK Alabama

Age: 33. Caps: 2 (2002-04). Record: P7 W2 H1 L4. World ranking: 23. Majors: 0.

MR TEACHER'S PET: A perennial captain's pick because of his nerve around the green. Record hardly justifies the faith shown in him, though. Payback time.

CHRIS DiMARCO New York

Age: 37. Caps: 1 (2004). Record: P4 W2 H1 L1. World ranking: 15. Majors: 0.

MR MOTIVATOR: Built on being the only American with winning record in Oakland Hills annihilation to confirm himself as the heart of the team at last year's President's Cup. A matchplay animal.

JIM FURYK Pennsylvania

Age: 36. Caps: 4 (1997-99-2002-04). Record: P15 W4 H2 L9. World ranking: 3. Majors: 1 (US Open 2003).

MR STRAIGHT: Weird swing, straightforward guy. Charged with partnering Woods and succeeding when Mickelson failed. Has a poor record in the Cup, but is in the best shape of his life.

J J HENRY Connecticut

Age: 31. Caps: 0. World ranking: 64. Majors: 0.

MR MYSTERIOUS: Named "J J" after his father Ronald. Not much else is known about the player who took 177 PGA Tour outings to win maiden title in July. One of Lehman's four unknowns.

ZACH JOHNSON Iowa

Age: 30. Caps: 0. World ranking: 42. Majors: 0.

MR UNDERRATED: The best known of Lehman's unknowns, but still largely ignored. That may be a mistake as he is a class act on the greens and provides many options for his captain.

PHIL MICKELSON California

Age: 36. Caps: 5 (1995-97-99-2002-04). Record: P20 W9 H3 L8. World ranking: 2. Majors: 3 (Masters 2004-06, US PGA 2005).

MR HAS-IT-ALL: A short game to die for. Often caught cold in the event's unique heat. Nevertheless, front rank in every sense.

VAUGHN TAYLOR Virginia

Age: 30. Caps: 0. World ranking: 60. Majors: 0.

MR GRIND: Lehman sees the same steely resolve in Taylor as in himself and warns that "Vaughn in the USA" will not buckle.

DAVID TOMS Louisiana

Age: 39. Caps: 2 (2002-04). Record: P8 W4 H1 L3. World ranking: 16. Majors: 1 (US PGA 2001).

MR NEAT: This diminutive pro has everything in the right place. America's top scorer on debut at The Belfry. Won one out of three games last time.

SCOTT VERPLANK Texas

Age: 42. Caps: 1 (2002). Record: P3 W2 L1. World ranking: 37. Majors: 0.

MR ATTRITION: Straight driver, straight putter, straight on the sheet for Lehman. Natural Cup competitor. Recent injury scare.

BRETT WETTERICH Ohio

Age: 33. Caps: 0. World ranking: 68. Majors: 0.

MR WHO? Pro for 12 years and never made a cut in a major. Made qualifying school in December and, remarkably, qualified.

TIGER WOODS California

Age: 30. Caps: 4. Record: P20 W7 H2 L11. World ranking: 1. Majors: 12 (Masters 1997-2001-02-05, US Open 2000-02, Open 2000-05-06, US PGA 1999-2000-06).

MR PERFECT: Not quite, as his Ryder Cup record does not live up to the rest of the legend. Has been on one winning team out of four and hasn't deserved to be on any more.

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