Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
Bradenton resident joins Scott Verplank as final additions to U.S. team.
By BOB HARIG
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 21, 2001
DULUTH, Ga. -- The pain was bad enough that Paul Azinger could barely put his scorecard in his back pocket. His shoulder throbbed, but he could swing a golf club well enough to win the PGA Championship, well enough to battle the world's best player, Nick Faldo, to a tie at the 1993 Ryder Cup.
That was the last time Azinger competed in the biennial matches. Two months later, he was diagnosed with lymphoma, a form of cancer that required radiation and chemotherapy treatment.
The comeback has been slow, with just one PGA Tour victory, but another step in the journey occurred Monday when Curtis Strange made Azinger and Scott Verplank his captain's picks for the 2001 Ryder Cup team. The United States takes on the Europeans Sept. 28-30 at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield, England.
"I'm really thankful to be on this team," Azinger said at the Atlanta Athletic Club, where he shot 74 Sunday and tied for 22nd in the PGA Championship. "I think that being on the Presidents Cup team last year was a reminder of how great that type of competition is. If you've never been on that team, then you don't know what you're missing.
"But I've been on those teams before and I knew what I was missing, and it was bothering me."
Azinger, who lives in Bradenton, played on the 1989, 1991 and 1993 teams, compiling a 5-6-2 record, including 2-0-1 in singles. In addition to his tie with Faldo, Azinger defeated Jose Maria Olazabal and Seve Ballesteros in singles and was considered one of America's fiercest competitors.
But his selection does not come without controversy. Azinger, 41, was 22nd in the Ryder Cup standings. The top 10 through the PGA Championship automatically make the team, with the captain getting two picks. Only Strange, who was picked by captain and good friend Lanny Wadkins in 1995, was a lower captain's choice at 23rd than Azinger. Strange was 0-3 in the 1995 Ryder Cup, won by Europe.
Strange said he looked at several factors, including "who has the biggest heart, who has the most game, who has some length in their game obviously to be able to possibly dominate a course or player in match play." He also considered "who can handle the atmosphere over there, which will be different than anything they have ever seen before."
Azinger has played two of his Ryder Cups in England at The Belfry. Verplank becomes the first Ryder Cup rookie chosen as a captain's pick, giving the team three rookies, along with PGA Championship winner David Toms and Stewart Cink.
Another factor was Strange's survey of players who were a lock to make the team, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, David Duval, Mark Calcavecchia and Davis Love.
"(Azinger's) name was the one that came up every single time," Strange said.
Toms' victory Sunday moved him into the top 10, bumping out veteran Tom Lehman, who played in the past three Ryder Cups and was 5-3-2, with a 3-0 singles record. It was Lehman who sparked the U.S. comeback in Brookline, Mass., two years ago, winning the first singles match that led to a record final-day comeback.
But Lehman missed the cut at the PGA Championship, as well as his two previous events. And other than a tie for third in June in Memphis, Lehman had been out of the top 15 in every event going back to the Players Championship.
"That was the toughest phone call I had to make," Strange said. "Bottom line, he just hasn't played very well."
Another tough call went to former University of Florida golfer Chris DiMarco, who finished 13th in the points. Verplank was a spot behind, but he finished tied for seventh in the PGA with a final-round 67.
Verplank has made a comeback as well, returning from three elbow surgeries, one that knocked him out of competition for 18 months.
The European team will be decided in three weeks. Azinger said the final makeup is inconsequential.
"One thing about the Ryder Cup, the format will always keep it close," he said.