The Golf Watch

Rome: Pavin pick is a bad move

I hadn't heard that many mixed reviews over the Corey Pavin selection, until I caught Thursday's edition of Jim Rome is Burning on ESPN.

Rome's major gripe is that the United States team had struggled for so many years before Paul Azinger was captain, that not bringing him back is non-sensical.  Rome said:

Look, I know the powers that be like to spread it around.  They don’t want to have repeat captains.  They must also not like winning because there’s no need to fix something that isn’t broken…Zinger had as much to do with winning, maybe more, than anybody swinging a club.  He took a group of disinterested, flat lining mercenaries, and he turned them into a bunch of crazed dogs…He earned the right to defend that title, he earned the right to stay on as long as he wants.

As for the Pavin selection, Rome indicates that it will be nearly impossible for Pavin to live up to what Azinger did this year:

He’s (Pavin) never been the most dynamic guy on tour if you know what I mean…You never want to be the guy following the guy, and that’s what Pavin is.  It’s a bad move.

Azinger captain speculation ends

Bob Verdi of Golf World broke the news that Paul Azinger will not be re-named the United States Ryder Cup captain for 2010.  Verdi quotes Azinger as saying:

All I can say is that it's not going to be me.  You'll find out who it is on Thursday.

The PGA of America doesn't waste much time, do they?

Azinger to show off nasty curve

The Tampa Bay Rays announced that Paul AzInger will throw out the first pitch for Game 2 of the Rays-White Sox series.  Zinger lives very close to Tropicana Field and, apparently, is a pretty big Rays fan.  He said in this Marc Lancaster report:

This is very special for me.  I’ve been a Rays fan since the inception of the franchise and attend games at Tropicana Field as often as I can. This year’s Rays club shows what a team with talent, character and faith can do.

"it is completely not true"

Paul Azinger told the media at his press conference earlier today that Nick Faldo's "assistant captain" quote from Scotland on Sunday was not true...

Did he say that? I question whether he said it, and if he did say it, it is completely not true.

Let's hope the journalist got his facts straight.

Do Tiger Woods and Paul Azinger have the same phone plan?

Even though it seems that Tiger Woods will not be on site for this week's Ryder Cup, he will be talking to Paul Azinger via cellular device.  Kevin Manahan of The Star-Ledger writes:

Azinger doesn't seem to worry about which button Tiger Woods will press. Answer? Ignore? At least for the next six days, they have included each other in their T-Mobile Favorite Five, and in his best Dwyane Wade impersonation, Woods has told Azinger: Call me any time.

And Azinger says he will.

Still, some are expecting a surprise visit from Woods, as Manahan indicates:

There are some who wonder if, on Sunday, Azinger will get a text from Woods that says, "I'm here for you, Paul." Azinger would smile and reply, "I know you are, Tiger. Thanks." And Woods, his knee in a brace but his thumbs working fine, would fire back, "No, I mean I'm here for you. I'm really here. Look behind you."

Speculation will grow as the competition -- which runs Friday to Sunday at Valhalla Golf Club -- draws near: Will Woods limp aboard his private jet and make the flight to Louisville to cheer his fellow Americans? And, if he did, would he be an inspiration or a distraction? Has Azinger told Woods to come or stay away? And will Woods address the team, in person or by speakerphone, or keep his mouth shut?...

Here's the thing: Woods was in New York a few weeks ago to unveil the latest version of his video game. If his surgically repaired knee could handle that, certainly it could withstand a day in a golf cart at Valhalla, rooting on the Americans in the dozen singles matches that will decide the outcome.

"I think it's clear that we are the underdogs going into these matches"

With the first 8 spots of his team secure--Paul Azinger, never one to hold anything back, told the media in the press room earlier today:

This time I think it's clear that we are the underdogs going into these matches.

Steve Elling of CBSSports.com writes about how ugly it could get:

Here is a simple recitation of fact. No European had ever won a PGA Championship in the 50 years it had been contested as stroke play, a streak Harrington destroyed when he held off Garcia and Curtis on Sunday.

The European Ryder candidates did far more than whip our tails at the top of the board. The first page of the PGA results are littered with Europeans and brings even more clarity to the notion that the European side has infinitely more depth and talent, no matter how you tweak the qualification scorecard.

It was yet another Euro trashing, another en masse massacre. Players in the mix for the European team, which will be finalized Aug. 31, demonstrably throttled their American counterparts, another potential harbinger of doom.

The European cup candidates claimed seven spots in the top 20 at Oakland Hills, while their American brethren with a true shot at making the team managed three.

The first words out of Azinger's mouth on Monday morning said it all, really. In three weeks, he has to identify the last four members of a team from among a list of candidates who have been outclassed and outplayed.

"Nick's a tabloid Target, there's nothing you can do."

Paul Azinger and Nick Faldo put to rest any debate over a recent Daily Mail article when they spoke out earlier today about their reported feud in two separate interviews.  Azinger, with a grin, told Peter Kostis before he teed off at the par-3 contest:

I love Nick.  Of course, Nick's a tabloid target, there's nothing you can do.  I mean, I swear, I promise.  I didn't do or say anything different than I have in the last year and a half, I promise.

As for Faldo, he told Vince Cellini on Wednesday's edition of TGC's Live From the Masters:

We get along fine together.  We had a great two years together at ABC.  And obviously, we both set a goal of how we want the next Ryder Cup to be a great experience.  We know what's going to be fired at us.  The el top of the press want to get in between me and my team, and obviously Zinger is a great target, to get us two throwing mud at each other.  So, there's nothing in it at all. 

Azinger on the attack

There has always been some tension between Ryder Cup captains Paul Azinger and Nick Faldo (pictured right).  It dates back to when they competed on the course nearly twenty years ago, and has continued to build ever since.  Well, Zinger took the relationship to another level with his comments in the Daily Mail...

Nick Faldo has tried to redefine himself (on The Golf Channel,CBS).  Some people have bought it. Some have not.  But if you're going to be a prick and everyone hates you, why do you think that just because you're trying to be cute and funny on air now that the same people are all going to start to like you?

The bottom line is that the players from his generation and mine really don't want to have anything to do with him.

It should be interesting to see how Faldo responds. 

Ryder Cup captain Azinger eagles 18th, will make cut at Sony

Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger was on the first page of the leaderboard earlier today at the Sony Open after 9 holes at 4-under-par.  Azinger showed some rust though, and bogeyed four of his next seven holes, and was in danger of missing the cut.  But Azinger, at 47, and a winner of the Sony Open in 2000, took advantage of his knowledge of Waialae CC, and eagled the par-5 18th hole, finishing at 2-under-par.  This is a great start to the year for Azinger, who only played in 13 events last year with one top-25 finish.  As for the rest of the field, K.J. Choi still has the lead at 9-under-par through 16 holes.