The Golf Blog: Is Corey Pavin serious that Tiger Woods isn’t an automatic captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup?
The Golf Blog says: Wow! US Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin has some nerve. He says that Tiger Woods has to earn his spot on the Ryder Cup team, and that Tiger won’t be an automatic captain’s pick if he fails to earn on points. Pavin gets to pick 4 of the players, and 8 players qualify by points. Right now, Tiger is 11th in the Ryder Cup point standings for the US team. The Cup will be played in October in Wales. Pavin hasn’t spoken to Woods this year.
Corey Pavin was an excellent Ryder Cup player — fiery like a bull dog. But he’s taking the totally wrong approach to Tiger. Pavin should be offering words of encouragement, instead of acting like Tiger is just another schmoe who has to prove himself. Tiger doesn’t have to prove his value any more. True, his golf game is shaky ever since the sex scandal. But there’s no reason for Pavin to take a sterile, if not standoffish, attitude to Tiger. What Pavin should be saying is this: “I know Tiger’s been through a lot of turmoil in his life. But I want him to know that we’d love to seem him playing well again and, if he does, to be a part of the U.S. team. He’s been such a contributor to the sport of golf, and it would be a shame if he misses the Ryder Cup. I can’t guarantee that he will be a captain’s pick, but I sure want him to be playing well and back on the golf course.”
UPDATE: The other thing is that Tiger Woods probably could care less about not playing in the Ryder Cup. Players don’t get any money, and major championships are what Tiger really covets. So Corey Pavin would be giving Tiger an easy way out if he let Tiger wiggle out of the Ryder Cup. You know the Euro fans in Wales would love to have Tiger Woods there, so they can heckle him.
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