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TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- One of the intriguing aspects of the Presidents Cup is that the captains fill in the players one game at a time, instead of blind draw, meaning they can orchestrate matches. That led to Tiger Woods playing Ernie Els in South Africa, and Fred Couples playing Vijay Singh in 2005.

The most famous incident came in Australia in 1998, when Greg Norman told Captain Peter Thomson he did not want to play Woods because the Shark was not at full strength, and Woods told Captain Jack Nicklaus that he wanted Norman.

"There was two pairing left, and Peter Thomson was picking first. So Norman was had," Nicklaus said recently. "And Norman said, 'Why did you do that to me?' I said, 'Hey, you're not my team. You're a friend of mine, but that's beside the point. Tiger had requested, if I can, to get you for him. Have a good day."'

Once the laughter subsided, International Captain Gary Player came up with a brilliant idea.

"Now I might have to do the same thing with Rory Sabbatini and Tiger," he said at a media day in Montreal.

That might be the most compelling match of the Sept. 27-30 event. Sabbatini has been needling Woods all year, saying he looked "more beatable than ever" after Woods had beaten him at the Wachovia Championship. Woods beat him again last week at Firestone.

Asked what he would make of such a presidential pairing, Sabbatini welcomed the idea.

"You either take down the best player," he said, "or you sacrifice yourself for the rest of the team."

MAJOR CUTS: Robert Allenby shot 82-80 on the weekend at Firestone, not the best way to head into the final major of the year. Especially with his record in the majors.

Allenby is among four players at Southern Hills who have missed the cut in all three majors this year. The others are former Open Championship winner Todd Hamilton, Colin Montgomerie and Johan Edfors.

Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk, Nos. 1 and 2 in the world ranking, lead the 13 players who have made the cut in all three majors. Their scores reflect how difficult the majors have played this year, as Woods has the highest scoring average in the majors despite being a cumulative 7 over par. And this from a guy who was second at the Masters, second at the U.S. Open and 12th at the Open Championship.

Furyk is at 12 over par after finishing 13th, second and 12th in the majors.

The other players who have made the cut in every major: Justin Rose, Paul Casey, Mike Weir, Zach Johnson, Jerry Kelly, Vijay Singh, Ian Poulter, Niclas Fasth, Scott Verplank, Lee Westwood and Carl Pettersson.

Eight of them have yet to finish at par or better in a major.

SKINS GAME: Remember the debut of the Skins Game featuring Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Gary Player?

This year's fearsome foursome that will gather Thanksgiving weekend in the California desert include defending champion Stephen Ames, Masters champion Zach Johnson, Skins Game regular Fred Couples and Brett Wetterich.

How did Wetterich make the field?

One of the criteria is for the highest available player from the 2006 PGA TOUR money list, and Wetterich finished at No. 10. Among those who turned down invitations were Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, Adam Scott and Vijay Singh. One spot goes to the winner of THE PLAYERS Championship, but Phil Mickelson rarely plays in the offseason. That pick was used on Johnson.

DIVOTS: No one has ever won the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship on the same golf course. For the third straight year, someone will have that opportunity -- Retief Goosen (Southern Hills), Davis Love III (Winged Foot) and Lee Janzen (Baltusrol).

FINAL WORD: "If you don't know what to say, it's easy to say something derogatory." -- Stewart Cink, on criticism of the FedEx Cup.

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved.