US RYDER CUP TEAM:IF YOU remember Corey Pavin as the man who donned an army camouflage cap in the 1991 Ryder Cup – the "War on the Shore" at Kiawah Island – you'd know he does things his way.
Yesterday, in the rather more fiscal surrounds of the New York Stock Exchange, Pavin again proved his propensity for boldness when he included tour rookie Rickie Fowler as one of his four captain’s wild card picks for the 38th edition of the biennial match at Celtic Manor on October 1st-3rd.
Fowler, who turned professional after last year’s Walker Cup, has recorded five top-10 finishes in his maiden season on tour and, having started the year 249th, he has risen to 33rd in the world.
At 21, Fowler, who has yet to win on tour, will be the youngest member of the US team, who will be seeking to retain the trophy following their success at Valhalla in 2008.
There was less surprise in his inclusion of world number one Tiger Woods, who had failed to qualify automatically after a truncated season affected by personal issues which culminated in his recent divorce, or, for that matter, in the choice of former US Masters champion Zach Johnson or last year’s British Open champion, Stewart Cink.
Pavin had telephoned Woods on Monday night to ask him if he would accept a wild card selection.
His response to Pavin? “Absolutely, tell me what you’d like me to do.”
In finalising his four captain’s selections – after taking the views of each of his four vice-captains and of all eight players who made the team by right – Pavin decided to overlook the late claims of Monday’s Deutsche Bank championship winner Charley Hoffman and also of Anthony Kim, who has missed much of the season due to injury, and last year’s US Open champion Lucas Glover. Kim and Glover had finished ninth and 10th respectively in the US standings, narrowly missing out on automatic places.
“There were a lot of players in the mix,” observed Pavin of his deliberations, “but it came down to feelings, my gut feeling.”
The quartet named yesterday by Pavin completed the US team for the match, with Woods, Johnson, Cink and Fowler joining Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Jeff Overton and Matt Kuchar.
