Ken Venturi named U.S. Presidents Cup captain in 2000

Five months after suffering its worst loss ever in international match play competition, the United States named Ken Venturi as captain of the Presidents Cup team for the 2000 event, the PGA Tour announced today.

Venturi takes over the captaincy from Jack Nicklaus, who assembled a stellar lineup that featured David Duval, Tiger Woods and Mark O'Meara but watched his team suffer an embarrassing 20 1/2-11 1/2 loss to the International team at Melbourne, Australia. It came one year after the U.S. lost to Europe at the Ryder Cup.

A winner of 14 events on the PGA Tour during a 12-year career, Venturi's crowning achievement came at the 1964 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club, when he overcame heat exhaustion and played 36 holes on the final day to win by four shots. He went on to win PGA Player of the Year that year and was named Sports Illustrated's "Sportsman of the Year."

Venturi has been with CBS as a broadcaster since 1968 and has devoted considerable time to charity work.

The U.S. won the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994, 20-12, and again in 1996, 16 1/2-15 1/2, both at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Lake Manassas, Virginia. The event will return to that course October 16-22, 2000.

The Presidents Cup is a biennial international match play competition that features 12 players on each team. It features a total of 32 matches, with five four-ball matches and five alternate-shot matches apiece on the first two days before 12 singles matches are played on the final day.

TRW