Cink appointed United States Ryder Cup vice-captain

United States captain Zach Johnson has named Stewart Cink as his fifth and final vice-captain for this year's Ryder Cup in Rome.

Cink joins Steve Stricker, Davis Love III, Jim Furyk and Fred Couples in working under Johnson for the tournament that takes place between 29 September and 1 October.

It will be Cink's first time serving in this capacity. He played on five straight US Ryder Cup teams from 2002-10.

"Competing in the Ryder Cup has been one of the highlights of my entire career and I'm ready to do whatever it takes to help Zach and the US team retain the Ryder Cup," Cink said in a news release.

"I'm honoured that Zach would entrust me to play a role in helping make that a reality in Italy."

Cink turned 50 earlier this year and is playing on both the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has won eight times in his career on the PGA Tour, including The Open Championship in 2009.

Johnson is serving as team captain for the first time after previous appearances as an assistant captain at the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup.

Johnson said: "Stewart is someone I can trust and will give me honest and constructive feedback as we head into the final stages of preparing for the Ryder Cup.

"And as everyone saw at the Open Championship this year, he's still competing at a high level on the golf course. He will play a critical role in our success as we head to Italy."