Team USA’s Forgotten Formula for Winning the Ryder Cup

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: September 29, 2016

commentComment        

The magnitude of the moment had barely begun to register with Paul Azinger as he sat at the decorated dais, the crowd trickling out of the room, his wife at his left elbow and a bottled water in his hand.

His team had just won the 2008 Ryder Cup in demonstrative fashion, ending a run of European dominance that had become a point of embarrassment, if not occasional outrage, to the captains, players and, heck, most of America.

As his victorious team filed out of the press center, Azinger fidgeted with the plastic bottle and faced the inevitable question about signing on for another hitch as captain. The U.S. team’s future in the biennial matches with the Europeans, which had felt pessimistically half-empty for so long, suddenly seemed optimistically half full.

His wife, Toni, smiled. Hoping to bask in the afterglow for a spell, Azinger hemmed and hawed, then noted that he would have to be invited first.

The phone call never came. The PGA of America, which runs the Ryder Cup in the States and selects the American captain, explained it had more captains-to-be in the line of succession than there were upcoming Ryder Cups available to lead, a list that included players such as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker.

The organization ended up naming Corey Pavin and Davis Love III as captains in 2010 and 2012, respectively.

"Then they gave it to Tom Watson," Azinger cracked last week.



As the Yanks and Euros resume the one-sided battle this weekend at Hazeltine National Golf Club in suburban Minneapolis, the debacle of 2014 under Watson, a blowout loss in Scotland, isn’t far from the minds of many.

Yet again, the Americans are searching for emergency fixes and explanations after losing six of the past seven Ryder competitions. To some, the answer seems as clear as the liquid in Azinger’s old plastic bottle.

Under the ch...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Golf

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!