Nicklaus tabs Couples for Presidents Cup

SPRINGFIELD, N.J. -- Fred Couples played his best golf this year in the two tournaments where Jack Nicklaus said farewell. Now he gets to play in the Presidents Cup where Nicklaus will be captain for the last time.

Nicklaus selected Couples and Justin Leonard to fill out the U.S. team on Monday, while International captain Gary Player took Peter Lonard of Australia and Trevor Immelman of South Africa, a pick that caught some by surprise.

The Presidents Cup will be played Sept. 22 through 25 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in northern Virginia, where the United States has never lost in three home games.

The matches ended in a tie at 17-17 two years ago at South Africa, when Tiger Woods and Ernie Els slugged it out over three holes of a sudden-death playoff before it was too dark to continue. Nicklaus and Player agreed to share the cup, and both were given another chance to be captain.

The 10 players who qualified for the U.S. team earned their way on Sunday, before the PGA Championship was over. Woods again led the standings -- only once has he failed to do that since 1997 -- and was followed by PGA champion Phil Mickelson, David Toms, Kenny Perry, Chris DiMarco, Jim Furyk, Fred Funk, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III and Scott Verplank.

The list was based on PGA Tour money, with dollars counting double in 2005.

Steve Elkington, who tied for second in PGA Championship, needed a victory to make the International team, which was based on the world ranking.

Els is out for the rest of the year with a knee injury, so the top 11 made the team: Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen, Adam Scott, Angel Cabrera, Tim Clark, Michael Campbell, Stuart Appleby, Mike Weir, Nick O'Hern and Mark Hensby.

Player went with Lonard, who was next in the standings, as one of his captain's picks. Immelman was 22nd in the standings.