Weir In, Ames Out at Presidents Cup?

Here’s the list of automatic qualifiers for both the International and U.S. teams at the Presidents Cup that will be held in San Francisco:

Player        Country        Prior appearances        Record        Pos. Jan. 1, 2009
Geoff Ogilvy        Australia        2007        2-3-0        No. 4
Vijay Singh        Fiji        All (1994-2007)        14-15-6        No. 1
Camilo Villegas        Colombia        —        —        No. 2
Retief Goosen        South Africa        2000, 2003, 2005, 2007        11-7-2        No. 20
Ernie Els        South Africa        1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2007        13-10-2        No. 3
Angel Cabrera        Argentina        2005, 2007        3-3-3        No. 18
Mike Weir        Canada        2000, 2003, 2005, 2007        11-7-1        No. 8
Robert Allenby        Australia        1994, 1996, 2000, 2003        6-11-2        No. 9
Y.E. Yang        Korea        —         —        No. 169
Tim Clark        South Africa        2003, 2005        4-5-1        No. 10

                        U.S. TEAM
Player                Prior appearances        Record        Pos. Jan. 1, 2009
Tiger Woods        1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007        13-11-1        No. 1
Phil Mickelson        All (1994-2007)        11-13-9        No. 2
Steve Stricker        1996, 2007        5-5-0        No. 7
Kenny Perry        1996, 2003, 2005        7-6-0        No. 5
Zach Johnson        2007        2-2-0        No. 23
Stewart Cink        2000, 2005, 2007        8-4-1        No. 6
Sean OHair        —        —        No. 10
Jim Furyk        1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007        13-8-2        No. 8
Anthony Kim        —        —        No. 4
Justin Leonard        1996, 1998, 2003, 2005        6-10-2        No. 3

Interesting notes on the International side include the appearance of Y.E. Yang after his PGA Championship win, Robert Allenby’s name on the list despite not having won in recent memory (though still making a lot of cash…), and little Tim Clark making the team (I wouldn’t want him putting a four-footer with the tournament on the line). Of course, Mike Weir is there after a couple of solid years, despite not having a win since 2007. He’s got a solid record at the event, and his exacting style of play makes him a strong team player in the event. What of the others? Els seems unable to pull out the big wins any longer, while Goosen has returned to form. Singh, on the other hand, is clearly fading, and the only really young player on the team is Villegas.

Could there be two Canadians on the team? That’s the question facing Greg Norman. Stephen Ames sits 16th on the International list and looks like he might be a good fit, despite a mixed year. A stronger finish at the PGA Championship would have helped his cause, especially with Matt Goggin playing well (and being a fellow Australian for Norman to pick ). What about Adam Scott, who recently announced he’s taking some time away from instructor Butch Harmon?

The U.S. team, on the other hand, has two new players — the struggling Anthony Kim and Sean O’Hair, who has emerged as one of the game’s best. Plenty of veterans on this team — from Woods to Mickelson and Stricker to Perry. Throw Justin Leonard and Jim Furyk in there and you have a team with tons of experience. It’ll surely be tough to beat, especially coming off the success at Valhalla last year in the Ryder Cup.

Who is on the outside looking in for the U.S. Team? U.S. Open winner Lucas Glover, who had a fine PGA Championship, would seem like an obvious pick. Ryder Cupper Hunter Mahan is close by, as is veteran David Toms. What about a bomber like Dustin Johnson?