Chris Carlson / AP

Rocco Mediate. left, jokes with Tiger Woods after the U.S. Open championship, which Woods won in an 18-hole playoff on June 16.

Azinger is free from the shackles of the points standings, able to hire hot hands for this Valhalla shootout. But where are they?

Oakland Hills chewed up Woody Austin and spit him out on Friday; did the same to Hunter Mahan and Zach Johnson. Sean O'Hair shot 76-73 on the weekend and tied for 31st. D.J. Trahan tied for 31^st too, while Steve Stricker tied for 39^th. J.B. Holmes was a good news/bad news tale. He demonstrated the potential of his powerful game by seizing the third-round lead at the PGA. Then, in position to win, he stumbled to a final-round  81. Holmes' average fourth-round score this year is 73.4.

Hot hands? None of those mentioned has won a tournament since March.

But there is still time to heat up. The PGA used to be the last significant event of the season, and the end of the line for Ryder Cup positioning. Azinger now has two more weeks to consider. The first two legs of the FedEx Cup playoffs have become last call for impression-making. The Barclays and the Deutsche Bank aren't major championships, but they are qualifying events with high-stakes implications.

A victory by a player in Ryder Cup contention would be hard to ignore. A failure by any of the principals to step up will be equally alarming. With that in mind, and without Azinger actually asking for the help, here is one unofficial advisor's four at-large choices.

Steve Flesch — As any big league manager would say, you can never have too may left-handers on the staff. Flesch tied for fifth at the Masters and was sixth at the PGA. He is a Kentucky native, a good putter, popular with the players, great with the media and has all the right elements.

Stricker — Ninth in the points standings, he hasn't been spectacular of late. But he has been consistently good over the last two seasons, with 14 top-10 finishes. Another good putter, he is fourth on the PGA Tour in final-round scoring average (69.09).

Brandt Snedeker — A little boyish enthusiasm wouldn't hurt, and Snedeker provides it. He has five top-10s this season, including a tie for third at the Masters and a tie for ninth at the U.S. Open, and he played four steady rounds at Oakland Hills to tie for 24^th.

Rocco Mediate — Forget Oakland Hills (72^nd), Mediate had a remarkable U.S. Open, where his simple game stood up under intense pressure, and he tied for 19^th at the nightmarish British Open. With his experience, his common-man connection with galleries, his fairways-and-greens game, he is the perfect 12^th man.