US Ryder CUp Captain Corey Pavin (Getty Images)

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• US Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin - Wild Card announcment transcript

US Ryder Cup Captain has named Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson, Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler as his four wild cards for The 2010 Ryder Cup at The

Tiger Woods is back in America's side for their defence of The Ryder Cup at The Celtic Manor Resort on October 1-3.
 
The World Number One, needing a wild card for the first time after failing to win a tournament this season, was named by Captain Corey Pavin along with Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson and Rickie Fowler.
 
They join the eight who had already qualified on points - Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Hunter Mahan and cup newcomers Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Jeff Overton and Bubba Watson.

“I am very pleased to add these four to Team USA,” said Pavin. “I think our team is very good.  I think these four players complement those eight very well.  That was the goal of these four players.  I'm very proud to have Team USA completely assembled now, and I'm looking forward to the matches in three weeks.”

He added: “What was important to me is who I thought could play well in that environment over in Wales on European soil.  That was my first criteria.  Obviously I like guys that are playing well, and that's important, as well.  I wanted to find guys that round off the team and make it a team of 12, not 12 individuals that are great players.  I wanted 12 players that made up a great team.
 
“That was my objective, and I've succeeded, I hope, and we'll find out in a few weeks.  But that's where I wanted to go with this, and the important thing was to match up these four with the eight that are already on the team.”
 
Woods, who missed the 2008 match in Louisville following knee surgery, returns for his sixth cap, but has only once been on a winning side - in Boston in 1999.
 
This year he finished fourth at The Masters Tournament in his first event back from four months out and repeated that at the US Open Championship, but has not had a top-ten finish since.
 
When Woods came 78th out of 80 at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational a month ago he expressed doubts about whether he would be of any use to the side playing the way he was.
 
But since starting to work with Sean Foley at last month's US PGA Championship there has been a marked improvement.
 
And in his last appearance for the United States - last October's Presidents Cup - he achieved a maximum five points.

“It's great to be a part of this team,” he said. “I'm honored to be selected and head over to Wales to represent the United States in The Ryder Cup.  I've been to Wales previously in the Walker Cup and looking forward to going back and having a great time with the team and hopefully bring the Cup back.”
 
In 25 Ryder Cup games - no Captain has dared to leave him out of a single session yet - he was won ten, halved two and lost 13.
 
Stricker is expected to become his 12th partner. They had four wins out of four together in the Presidents Cup and were only once taken to the final green.
 
Johnson, Masters Tournament champion in 2007, finished third in the US PGA Championship last month and returns to the side after making his debut at The K Club in Ireland four years ago.
 
Cink receives a pick for the third time in four matches, but has not won a tournament since beating 59 year old Tom Watson in the play-off for The Open Championship last summer and has had only one top-ten finish in the last six months.
 
Fowler, at 21 the same age as Rory McIlroy, creates history by making it from the Walker Cup to The Ryder Cup in just one year.
 
He has not lifted a US PGA Tour title yet, but has had three second places and is already up to 33rd in the Official Golf World Rankings.

European Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie said: “Corey has used his four Captains picks to good effect as I knew he would and I am glad we now know the twelve men we will face at Celtic Manor.

“Like my European Team, the American side has an excellent blend of youthful talent alongside some seasoned Ryder Cup campaigners and I am delighted to see Tiger Woods amongst Corey’s selections – The Ryder Cup is a better event with him in it.

“I wish the American team safe travels and we all look forward to welcoming them to Wales.”

Sir Terry Matthews, the owner of host venue The Celtic Manor Resort who attended the press conference in New York, said: “I congratulate every member of the United States team on winning their place in the team. It is a considerable achievement both for those who qualified automatically and for those who were awarded wildcard selections by Corey Pavin.

“Personally, I am delighted that Tiger Woods, the world’s No 1 golfer, has been selected to play. It was always our hope that the world’s very best golfers would come to Celtic Manor and there is no doubt that Tiger Woods has been the world’s standout player for the 10 years we have been planning for this Ryder Cup.”

To view the European and US Ryder Cup Teams, click here