By Ron Kroichick
San Francisco Chronicle
Parting thoughts from the Ryder Cup, where the U.S. might want to install Boo Weekley as its perpetual mascot:
– Paul Azinger made all the right moves in his role as U.S. captain. He kept his players loose, set up Valhalla to encourage birdies and helped the Americans hoist the cup for the first time in nine years.
One of Azinger’s only miscalculations: His insistence that the absence of Tiger Woods carried no positive effect for the U.S.
Obviously, the team would have been stronger, strictly in a golf sense, with Woods rather than Ben Curtis or Chad Campbell. But as Europe’s Paul Casey suggested Sunday night, the U.S. thrived in part because of its “no stars” personality.
That vibe is simply not possible with Woods on the premises. His larger-than-life persona ó that happens when you win 14 major championships by age 32 ó casts a wide shadow. It’s easy to envision the U.S., especially the rookies, playing tighter with Woods (as it has in past Ryder Cups) or becoming deflated if Tiger had lost his matches.
Instead, players such as Anthony Kim and Hunter Mahan and Weekley demonstratively seized the spotlight, proving the U.S. is deeper than previously suspected in three days of tense, entertaining golf in an electric setting that showed the power of the team format.
– Lee Westwood probably comes off as a sniveling whiner in print. He complained about the difficult course at the PGA Championship (played at Michigan’s Oakland Hills), objected to Weekley’s crowd-inciting behavior at the Ryder Cup and criticized U.S. fans for heaping “shameful abuse” on him throughout the weekend.
In person, though, Westwood projects an entirely different image ó thoughtful, analytical, amusing. He was hilarious in describing the way one fan, dressed in a white sheet, jumped in front of Westwood on the course Sunday and shouted “Boo!” in a joking attempt to startle him.
Tournament officials ejected the fan, to Westwood’s dismay. He thought the guy was funny.
– Westwood and Sergio Garcia also earned points in this corner for rising to the defense of European captain Nick Faldo. It has become a ridiculous ritual on the other side of the Atlantic, for the Ryder Cup captain to endure endless scrutiny and criticism.
But in Sunday night’s news conference, Westwood and Garcia each spoke before Faldo had a chance to answer pointed questions about his decisions. It was especially refreshing to see Garcia voluntarily shoulder responsibility, given how often he finds excuses when he falters in majors.
– In the afterglow of Louisville’s whirl as Ryder Cup host, one local journalist figured the event will spark more interest in golf. She then asked Kentucky natives Kenny Perry and J.B. Holmes if they had any advice for kids who soon might take up the game for the first time.
Holmes, one of the longest hitters around, smiled.
“Swing hard,” he said.
– Davis Love III, a former PGA champion who has played on six Ryder Cup teams, is a lock to be the U.S. captain one of these years. But it doesn’t sound like 2010 will be it.
“I would consider myself too young and too interested in still playing,” said the 44-year-old Love.
Azinger said he has not thought about being captain again, even if he is asked. The heavy favorite would be Corey Pavin, because Fred Couples will be the Presidents Cup captain next year and most other candidates are on the Champions Tour or too young.
That’s not to say Love is not interested.
“I’d love to be considered,” he said. “But I’d love to play, too.”
– The Tour Championship has only 15 of the top 30 players in the world ranking.
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NOTES: Among the text messages Tiger Woods sent Paul Azinger at the Ryder Cup: “You will win tomorrow because only Americans win on that course.” Valhalla previously hosted the PGA Championship in 1996, won by Mark Brooks, and in 2000, won by Woods. … David Duval tied for 22nd last week at the Viking Classic, his best finish on the PGA Tour since a tie for 16th in the 2006 U.S. Open. … Davis Love III plans to play five out of six Fall Series events. … The PGA Tour is wrapping up its 2009 schedule, still uncertain whether to play four consecutive weeks next year in the FedEx Cup.