Pavin gives Woods the nod for Ryder Cup

US PGA Tour | 2010 The 38th Ryder Cup | General | 08 Sep 2010

The foursome, which includes three with previous Ryder Cup experience, joins eight players who had earned automatic berths following the 92nd PGA Chammpionship last month.

Captain Corey Pavin selected Zach Johnson, Tiger Woods Stewart Cink and Rickie Fowler Tuesday to complete a 12-player roster for the 2010 United States Ryder Cup Team.

The foursome, which includes three with previous Ryder Cup experience, joins eight players who had earned automatic berths Aug. 15, following the 92nd PGA Championship.

Captain Pavin has made his four selections to complete the 38th U.S. Ryder Cup Team.

Pavin made his selections at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, where The PGA of America was founded in 1916. He will guide the U.S. against Europe, Oct. 1-3, in the 38th Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor Resort near Newport, Wales.

The U.S. Team features five players – Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Jeff Overton and Bubba Watson – making their first appearance on a U.S. Team as it bids to retain possession of the Ryder Cup, and capture its first victory in Europe since 1993. Europe will start six Ryder Cup rookies.

The U.S. players earning automatic bids are led by world No. 2-ranked Phil Mickelson, who is joined in order of their finish in the U.S. Ryder Cup point standings by Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Jeff Overton and Matt Kuchar.

“I am very pleased to add these four to Team USA,” said Pavin, the 26th U.S. Ryder Cup Captain of his selections. “I think our team is very good. I think these four players complement those eight very well. That was the goal of these four players. I’m very proud to have Team USA completed assembled now, and I’m looking forward to the matches in three weeks.”

Pavin said his selections “give me a lot of flexibility,” and was not concerned over any criticism made of his choices.

“My job is to put together the team that I feel is the best team and to represent the United States in the Ryder Cup,” said Pavin. “What other people’s opinions are, I cannot control, and I’m not concerned about it. I am just trying to get the best guys together to go over there and win.”

Each of Pavin’s Captain’s Selections expressed their excitement about making the 2010 Team, and confirmed the solemn task of attempting to bring back the Ryder Cup.

Woods did not compete in 2008 due to his recovering from knee surgery. This year, after finishing 12th in the final U.S. Ryder Cup Point Standings, Woods will be making his first Ryder Cup appearance as a Captain’s selection.

“I look at it the same,” said Woods. “I’m part of the team and honored to be part of the team and looking forward to going over there and playing and competing and hopefully bringing back the Cup. And that’s our main focus as a team. Whether I was a person who was picked or a person who earned their way on the squad, it doesn’t change the overall goal. It’s still the same, and that’s to go over there and win.”

Cink, who makes his fifth consecutive Ryder Cup appearance, said that the differences between competing for the Cup on the road have “blurred” in recent years.

“That’s because so many Europeans now attend the Ryder Cup in our country,” said Cink. “Fans on both sides are getting louder all the time. It’s a charged, exciting atmosphere. There’s almost nothing like it in the game.”

Fowler, whose flashy wardrobe of bright orange reflects his Oklahoma State University roots, said that he has no problems in competing in the more structured team environment.

“I made it through two Walker Cups not wearing orange; it worked out well there,” said the 21-year-old Fowler, who is the third youngest U.S. Ryder Cup rookie behind Horton Smith (1929) and Woods (1997) and who competed on the 2007 and ’09 U.S. Walker Cup teams. “I can bring, I guess, a lot of color to the team. I can bring some youth to the team and hopefully get the guys pumped up a little bit. But, as I said, we are all going over there to win so we area all going to be getting each other pumped up and kind of focusing on our main goal, bringing home the Cup.”

Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters Champion and who was a Ryder Cup rookie in 2006 in a U.S. defeat at The K Club in Ireland, said "Team play, team sports in general, it’s really something that drives me as a competitor and when you incorporate a team element and chemistry into golf, it makes it just that much more special.

“Having your nation’s flag on your sleeve and being led by Captain Pavin and his associates, makes it that much more special. So, I thank you guys and I thank you for trusting in me and knowing that I’m going to go out there and play really hard.”

Mickelson will be making his eighth consecutive Ryder Cup appearance, while Furyk will be making his seventh straight. Woods, after sitting out 2008, will be making his sixth appearance in golf’s pre-eminent event.

Overall, the veterans on the USA Team own a combined 34-52-20 record, while Europe’s veterans carry a 36-31-13 record. The current U.S. Team features five players who made up the U.S. squad that was defeated in 2006 in Ireland – Cink, Furyk, Zach Johnson, Mickelson and Woods.

European Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie said: "Corey has used his four Captains picks to good effect as I knew he would and I am glad we now know the twelve men we will face at Celtic Manor. "Like my European Team, the American side has an excellent blend of youthful talent alongside some seasoned Ryder Cup campaigners and I am delighted to see Tiger Woods amongst Corey’s selections – the Ryder Cup is a better event with him in it.

“I wish the American team safe travels and we all look forward to welcoming them to Wales.”

The European Ryder Cup Team roster was completed on Aug. 29, with Montgomerie choosing Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald and Edoardo Molinari to join nine players who earned berths – Ross Fisher, Peter Hanson, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Francesco Molinari, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood.

The Molinari brothers, along with Fisher, Hanson, Kaymer and McIlroy, are making their Ryder Cup debuts.

Begun in 1927, the Ryder Cup is among the last great professional sporting events where winning, and not prize money, is its own reward. The United States owns a 25-10-2 advantage in the biennial competition.

Source – PGA America

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