New York City, USA – Corey Pavin could not help but be nervous as he dropped the ball and prayed that it would stay on the tee. It was his very first Ryder Cup that was held overseas, and the opening shot has his name written all over it.
Pavin grabbed a grip on himself, and the United States Ryder Cup team won three matches which brought them to their last victory. Sadly, that was way back in 1993, and the United States team has not won a single Ryder Cup tournament against Europe since then.
Now, Pavin revisits the same pressure he was facing that time, but now his task is that of a captain.
In an interview after he was introduced as the captain for the 2010 Ryder Cup, Pavin said, “The nerves you feel at the Ryder Cup are nothing like you feel anywhere else in golf… I’ve won the U.S. Open – it felt like a walk in the park compared to the Ryder Cup.”
Pavin will take over Paul Azinger, a man who led the U.S. team into breaking the decade long of Europe’s dominance at the Ryder Cup. The U.S. team has not seen a player retain position as Ryder Cup captain since Ben Hogan. The night when this year’s Ryder Cup championship was acquired by the U.S. team, the team’s players lobbied for the return of Azinger. Only recently did Azinger express interest for the position.
However, Jim Remy, president of PGA of America, said that he did not want to break with the precedent as there are many other capable players who can carry the position of U.S. team’s Ryder Cup captain.