SPRINGFIELD, N.J.-- Scott Verplank wanted to play well enough at the PGA Championship that he wouldn't have to rely on being one of Jack Nicklaus' captain's picks for the Presidents Cup.
He never shot under par at Balustrol. He didn't crack the top 30 on the leaderboard.
But his finish was good enough.
Verplank held on to 10th place in the standings to earn a spot on the U.S. team, while Davis Love III also kept alive his streak by making his 12th consecutive Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup team, the longest streak of any American.
"I didn't play as good as I wanted, because I didn't want to leave it up to be picked," said Verplank, who finished 5 over. "But I wanted to make this team. It will be fun playing for Jack, and it's fun to represent your country."
The Presidents Cup will be played Sept. 22-25 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Prince William County, Va. Because no one behind Verplank has a mathematical chance of catching him, the U.S.team was determined Sunday afternoon even though the PGA Championship won't end until Monday.
The U.S.team was determined by the PGA TOUR money list, with the dollars counting double in 2005. The 10 players who qualified were Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, David Toms, Kenny Perry, Chris DiMarco, Jim Furyk, Fred Funk, Stewart Cink, Love and Verplank.
Nicklaus and International Team Captain Gary Player will complete their teams with two Captain's Picks on Monday. The teleconference will be broadcast live on PGATOUR.com at 3 p.m. ET.
The International team -- every country outside Europe -- is determined by the Official World Golf Ranking, and that cannot be determined until the PGA Championship ends Monday.
Those who were assured of being on the team were Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen, Adam Scott,
Editor's note: AP contributed to this story.
