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Architect Of Ryder Success?

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By MICK ELLIOTT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 14, 2008

TAMPA - The man is no politician, yet Paul Azinger began campaigning for change - the hot-button word of 2008 - long before the election trail began warming even to a simmer.

The longtime Bradenton resident started pushing for a break from traditional ways of doing things 16 months ago, the very moment he was named 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup team captain and asked to reverse an American golf losing skid of Green Party proportions.

"I just want to make a change," Azinger said. "They've killed us the last two Ryder Cups. Why not try something different?"

The PGA of America answered by giving Azinger, the son of a career military man, its mandate to do whatever necessary to reverse the Americans' downward tumble of three straight losses and a 1-5 record in the last six Ryder Cups. And now, seven months before the matches will be played at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., Azinger already has distinguished himself as a hands-on architect plotting for any and every advantage.

"I don't feel that any American captain has had this luxury," he said. "But PGA of America has given me pretty much responsibility to kind of do whatever I want."

Some moves are subtle, such as a recent announcement that Azinger, acting on power given host captains, will alter the schedule, seeking a quick U.S. start by playing alternate-shot matches in the mornings before best-ball in the afternoons of the first two days.

Azinger's hope is to allow his team to land the first punch and build speed. In recent years, the Europeans have played well in morning best-ball matches to build a lead and strong momentum that the Americans have not been able to overcome.

"I felt like the Americans had an edge in alternate shot," Azinger said. "I think it's partly responsible for why Europe has gotten off to a pretty hot start."

Other Azinger decisions have been made from personal experience, most notably an overhaul of the system used to select the U.S. 12-man team.

Dumping the previous two-year point system that qualified 10 players before adding two at-large picks, Azinger will build his team by taking eight players straight off the money list and doubling his number of captain's pick to four. The move should ensure a team that is playing well at the moment, not players living on points earned two years earlier.

"I felt like there's only two things that ever made me nervous or that I ever choked for in my life, and that was cash and prestige," Azinger said. "I felt like I would rather let money be the barometer.

"It's the barometer for everything we do, and the most prestigious events are the ones you're dealing with the most pressure."

By the time the matches arrive, little about this Ryder Cup will not carry Azinger's fingerprints. Already he has had a meeting with Mark Wilson, the superintendent at Valhalla, about how best to set up the golf courses to play to American strengths. And he promises to consider everything from the width of the fairways to speed of greens when making the four captain's picks.

"I've got a lot of decisions on course setup," Azinger said. "Europe would always try to neutralize our strength, which was power. I feel that these last several Ryder Cups, bombers like Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods - fairways beyond 290 yards were like 8 yards wide. They forced Tiger to end up hitting his second shots into the greens from the same spots as everybody else.

"I've spent a lot of time with Mark Wilson, and depending on the makeup of the team, I'll do anything to get an edge."

No one is surprised.

"I think he's going to take advantage of our homefield advantage, and I think there's nothing wrong with that," Mickelson said. "We should know where the pins are. We should have the course set up for guys who hit it wherever the landing area is for us. We need to take advantage of home court.

"Guys in football do it all the time. If they're playing a quick team, they let the grass grow - little things like that. There's nothing wrong with that."

Tampa Bay Golfer

Local amateur Fran Curci was an All-American quarterback at the University of Miami in 1959 before going on to coach at the universities of Tampa, Miami and Kentucky. He later coached in the Arena Football League and was the University of Tampa's athletic director before retiring.

Residing in Tampa with wife, Pat, Curci recently completed his last year as a radio college football broadcaster and now volunteers weekly at the Veterans Hospital in Tampa.

Age: 69

Membership: Avila Golf and Country Club

When golf came calling: "I grew up in Oakmont, Pa. So during summers I caddied at Oakmont for three years when I was a teenager. I've been playing since."

Best golf moment: "I have two holes-in-one. Both at Avila - No. 5 and 17."

Handicap: "I'm an 11 ... but I think I'm better. Everybody thinks they are better."

How often do you play? "I play at least twice a week. In fact, I have a New Year's resolution that I am walking 18 holes at least twice a week."

For me, golf is: "A love affair."

You just found $200 on the ground. More than likely it will be spent on your wife or on golf? "Now that's really bad. But being in coaching and stuff, I don't pay too many times anyway. I'm usually on scholarship. So I'd spend it on her."

Locally

Ernie Els has committed. So have Retief Goosen, Charles Howell III, Boo Weekley, Chris DiMarco, Justin Rose and defending champ Mark Calcavecchia. And Phil Mickelson is indicating - reserving a block of rooms during tournament week - he also will be part of the field.

All in all, the early entry list for next month's PODS Championship at Innisbrook Resort suggests a strong field.

"Phil has played here two of the last four years and we feel very confident we are going to get a commitment very soon," tournament director Gerald Goodman said during a news conference to promote the March 6-9 event.

"But we can say 'expected to,' which would be great for us."

Tournament exemptions also were announced, including John Daly, John Huston, Lee Janzen and Michael Bradley. Also, for the first time, the amateur winner of Palma Ceia's annual Gasparilla Invitational will receive an invitation. Tickets are available at all area Publix Super Markets, at www.podschampionship.com or by calling (727) 942-5566.

•St. Petersburg's Diabetic Charitable Services, a beneficiary of the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am, has been selected as the Champions Tour's Charity of the Year. The charity, which seeks to educate and aid in the early detection of diabetes, will receive a $30,000 donation from the tour.

On Tour

•Scott Verplank enters this week's Northern Trust Open with a streak of 23 consecutive rounds of par or better dating to the final round of last year's The Barclays.

•Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Retief Goosen and Lee Westwood are all making their PGA Tour season debut today when play begins at the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles.

•The LPGA season begins today in Hawaii with opening-round play in the SBS Open at Turtle Bay. Returning champ Paula Creamer was asked what one thing she would like to take from Tiger Woods - his bank account, yacht or part of his golf game. "It would probably have to be putting. He's the best putter alive. I would say putting and his mentality."

•Phil Mickelson missed the cut last week in defense of his title at Pebble Beach, courtesy of a second-round 11 on the 14th hole when he took two out of bounds. It was the highest score on one hole in his PGA Tour career.

•Citing a history of weather issues, the Champions Tour's Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am moved to a new April date this year. In past years the event would tee off Friday, with showers predicted for the weekend.

•The Golf Channel compound was zapped by lightning Saturday night when a storm rolled through Boca Raton during the Champions Tour's Allianz Championship, causing so much damage that the network barely made it on the air for Sunday's telecast.

Mick Thinks...

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem is whistling his way past the graveyard. Tournaments in Tampa and Atlanta are losing title sponsors after this season. Given today's economic conditions, finding corporations eager to spend some $7 million a year to host a golf tournament isn't going to be easy. The commissioner, however, insists there is little worry. "I think the product that PGA Tour players put out there is extremely marketable," he says. "We have interest in the market in sponsorships today, companies that aren't sponsoring. Are we going to continue to play in Atlanta and Tampa, and if so, is there a fit with a sponsor, because all potential sponsors have their own view of calendar and site. "That's the challenge right now, not the economy. Things may worsen, but right now we're optimistic that we'll be 100 percent sponsored."

Reporter Mick Elliott can be reached at (813) 281-2534 or melliott@tampatrib.com.

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