MELBOURNE, Australia -- Before anyone writes off Tiger Woods or the rest of the 20-something stars who failed to win a major championship this year, be sure to check the top qualifiers for the U.S. team in the Presidents Cup.
And get used to seeing them represent the Stars and Stripes for years to come.David Duval, Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, Justin Leonard and Phil Mickelson were the first five in Presidents Cup points, which amounts to money earned the past two seasons, with the dollars doubled for 1998.
That all of them are in their 20s is no surprise to their captain this week at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
"You're seeing the young players take over," Jack Nicklaus said. "For a few years, it looked like youth would get pushed back, but you knew pretty soon they were going to come through."
The old man in the group is Furyk at a not-so-geriatric 28. He is the least accomplished of the five -- only three victories on the PGA Tour and never really in contention in a major until this year (Masters, British Open). Then again, he also has 25 finishes in the top 10 the past two seasons.
Mickelson, a month younger than Furyk, is playing on his fourth straight national team and already has won 13 times on the PGA Tour. Leonard is 26. A year after winning his first major in the British Open, he didn't challenge in any of the majors, although he did win against the toughest field of the year in The Players Championship.
Duval, 27, was left off the Ryder Cup a year ago, which seems remarkable now because he has won seven PGA Tour events since and might be the best player in the world now, even if he won't make that claim himself.
Woods will turn 23 at the end of the month and is irritated at having to answer questions about a so-called slump. He couldn't get a putt to fall all year and had to settle for two wins worldwide, third place in the British Open (he missed the playoff by one stroke) and top 10s in the Masters and PGA Championship.
The average age of American golf's "Fab Five" is a mere 26 1/2.
Throw in 34-year-old Davis Love III (No. 6 on the Presidents Cup points list), and the average age for the top half of the U.S. team is 27 1/2. The average age for the bottom half on the points list -- which featured three players in their 40s -- is 39 1/2.
Clearly, the American landscape regarding national teams is changing.
"I think it is," said Love, who is caught in between youth and those fast approaching 40. "It used to be Raymond Floyd, Lanny Wadkins, Curtis Strange, Tom Kite, and they're type. Now, Freddie (Couples) is kind of the leader of the group. Here, we've got Tiger, Duval, Furyk . . . that's the group that is getting experience for the future."
Woods compared it to the European class that produced Ryder Cup regulars such as Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam.
"That's what's happening here," Woods said. "We all team up well, we're all great friends."
More evidence of a changing of the guard is the list of players whose names are being tossed around as possible captains down the road -- a sure sign their appearances in cup matches are dwindling.
Corey Pavin. Paul Azinger. Payne Stewart.
These are some of the players who briefly interrupted what has become European dominance in the Ryder Cup.