"So let's be the first to ask, why not Kevin Streelman?"

Even though Kevin Streelman has yet to break through this year with a victory, his stellar play of late hasn't gone unnoticed.  The PGA Tour rookie's latest hot streak might catch Paul Azinger's eye, as Steve Elling writes:

"I have no idea what he's thinking," Streelman said. "I think he could say, 'Wow, he's really playing well right now.' Or he could be thinking, 'He just doesn't have nearly enough experience.' Hard to say."

As Streelman readily admits, both are defensible positions. But so is the premise that the Duke graduate deserves at least as much consideration, if not more, as the parade of sputtering Yanks seemingly held in higher esteem.

Go ahead, name a more scorching American player. Waiting ... waiting ... waiting.

Outside of veteran Steve Stricker, who is ranked No. 10 in the world and stands as the only player most experts consider to be a mortal lock to make the team as one of the four Tuesday picks, the rest of the perceived candidates have mostly been reaching for life preservers, unable to remotely sustain continuity.

Streelman has made 12 straight cuts, more than any other player who hasn't already cemented a berth on the team and the fifth-best streak on the entire tour. After starting the Wyndham Championship two weeks ago at No. 120 in earnings, in danger of losing his tour card later this year, he has climbed to 81st and topped the $1 million mark.