AKRON, Ohio -- A summer slump with his putter cost Jeff Sluman a chance to make the Presidents Cup team, but it won't keep him from going to South Africa.
And he still might have a chance to play.
U.S. captain Jack Nicklaus planned to pick Sluman as his assistant captain Wednesday with instructions to bring his clubs in case someone can't play.
Sluman, who finished 14th in the U.S. standings, has never played in a Ryder Cup or a Presidents Cup.
"That assistant captain has been told to have his golf game ready, and if one of the boys happens to get sick or can't play when they're in South Africa, he would be the alternate there," Nicklaus said in a conference call Monday.
If an American player decides in the next few weeks not to go, Nicklaus said he might select another player because he needs "an assistant captain and somebody who is actively working while we're there."
When the Links at Fancourt was selected as the site of this Presidents Cup, several top Americans were skeptical of going to South Africa the week before Thanksgiving.
Everyone is expected to go -- Tiger Woods, included -- but nothing is official yet.
"Has anyone committed?" Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg at IMG, said last week. "The tour has asked me for one. They want to be able to promote it on TV. Tiger and I said we'd get through the week and then firm up the rest of the year."
Phil Mickelson said late last year that it might be a last-minute decision. He doesn't play much in the offseason, and suggested his rusty game might be a liability. But Mickelson told his spokesman on Sunday he was playing.
"It potentially will be the first time he's lifted a club in weeks," said T.R. Reinman of Gaylord Sports. "But he has every intention of going."
These kind of questions never come up with the Ryder Cup, which has 70 years of tradition and a history of hard-fought matches on its side.
The last time the Presidents Cup was held outside the United States, the Nicklaus-led team did not have its heart in the matches and suffered the worst U.S. loss ever in a team competition, 20 1/2-11 1/2.
Mike Bodney, the PGA Tour senior vice president in charge of the Presidents Cup, said it doesn't require commitments like a regular tour event, and "everybody is going."
"We've got clothing for everyone who is eligible," Bodney said.
He also said a public announcement by Woods isn't necessary to promote the event.
"We don't promote the individual," he said. "Everything is done as a team."
After this year, the Presidents Cup won't leave North America for six years.
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia, site of the three previous Presidents Cup matches, will be announced Wednesday as the 2005 site.
Plans are under way to send the 2007 matches to Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada.
SIGNING DAY: Tiger Woods was in the locker room at Oak Hill after a third-round 73 knocked him out of contention for good at the PGA Championship.
David Toms, who played with Woods the first two rounds and didn't fare much better, asked him to sign a poster.
"Hey, I had to put with you for two days," Toms joked.
After Woods signed the poster, Toms was rolling it up to put in a cardboard tube when he looked at a small group of reporters and cracked, "You guys want to buy this?"
ACE REVISITED: Howard Clark made an ace on the 192-yard 11th hole at Oak Hill during his singles match against Peter Jacobsen in the 1995 Ryder Cup.
Now working for Sky Sports, the Englishman returned to No. 11 on the Sunday before the PGA Championship to see if he could recapture the magic.
No such luck.
For one thing, the hole was lengthened to 226 yards.
Instead of a 6-iron that he hit in 1995, Clark hit about 10 shots using a 3-iron "with no wind -- and no pressure."
How did he fare?
"I only had to repair a few pitch marks, put it that way," Clark said.
FIRESTONE MEMORIES: Jeff Sluman hasn't played at Firestone since 1997 when it was the World Series of Golf.
He had trouble finding the practice range Tuesday, but he still has distinct memories of the first hole -- like the time he topped his opening tee shot.
Sluman had won for the first time a few weeks earlier, at the 1988 PGA Championship.
"I remember Tom Watson telling me that at some point in time, you're going to realize what the heck you did," Sluman said.
He was introduced on the first tee as the PGA champion, and the time had come.
"It was in the middle of my swing," he said. "I hit it about 30 yards. These people were saying, "How in the world did this guy win a tournament, let alone a major?' At least that's what you feel like they're saying."
FUTURE PLAYERS: Stacy Prammanasudh and Reilley Rankin were among those who finished in the top five on the Futures Tour money list, which allowed them to earn their LPGA Tour cards for next year.
Prammanasudh won the money title with $57,760. The others were South Koreans Soo Young Moon and Ju Kim, and Candy Hannemann of Brazil.
"Getting an LPGA exempt card is what we all set out to do," said Prammanasudh, a former All-American at Tulsa.
It was especially sweet for Rankin, the former Georgia star severely injured in 1999 diving off a cliff. She broke her back and sternum, and bruised her heart, lungs and aorta. It was feared she would never walk again.
DIVOTS: The last time five straight majors went to players who had never captured one was 1986-87 -- Greg Norman (British Open), Bob Tway (PGA), Larry Mize (Masters), Scott Simpson (U.S. Open) and Nick Faldo (British Open). The streak ended with Larry Nelson winning the '87 PGA. ... In 44 victories worldwide, Tiger Woods has won only five times on par-70 courses. Three were the NEC Invitational at Firestone. ... The Byron Nelson Classic raised $5.74 million for charity, the fifth straight year the tournament has gone over $5 million in charitable donations. ... Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pa., will host the 2005 Senior PGA Championship.
STAT OF THE WEEK: The last six winners of the PGA Championship have shot par or better all four rounds.
FINAL WORD: "He told us to eat good food and practice hard." -- Peter Lonard of Australia, on International captain Gary Player's advice for his Presidents Cup team.
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