Pavin Do Not Kid Yourself; Tiger Belongs on Ryder Cup Team

When Corey Pavin goes to name his captain picks for this years Ryder Cup he is going to have a lot of pressure placed squarely on his shoulders.

My thinking is that he should make the player who has only missed one cut this year; who finished tied for fourth in both in Masters and the U.S. Open one of his picks. The No. 1 player in the world (although soon to lose the ranking), Tiger Woods.

It does not matter whether you think Tiger is washed up and done. Pavin shouldn't fool himself for one second that Tiger does not belong on that team. When you have the chance to add a player to your roster of Tiger's caliber you don't think, you do it. That would be like leaving Kobe Bryant off the All-Star team because he has been missing free throws. Maybe he has not played up to the level we all expect but he makes that team better and that is all that matters.

In the end he really he has no other choice. JB Holmes? He can only hit the ball far. His scoring average, 70.03, is just barley better than Woods at 71.20. Ben Crane has missed four cuts this year. Rickie Fowler? Ya don't even pretend like that would be a better choice than Tiger. Nick Watney, maybe, but his scoring average again is not much better that Tiger's.

Sure Tiger has not lit it up at the Ryder Cup but with Steve Stricker playing well Tiger and Stricker might be able to rekindle their Presidents Cup magic from last year when they went a perfect 5-0. Not to mention the hardest thing in sports might be to beat Tiger Woods heads up (aka singles).

Don't forget Pavin will also probably have to deal with a rusty Anthony Kim on the team and if Tiger starts to turn it around he can easily fill the void left from last cups' hero.

Pavin does not need a guy to hang in there and grit it out like Ben Crane. He needs points and wins and Tiger can do that. Every time he sticks that tee in the ground he has a chance to dominate and amaze.

Yes Tiger is struggling, yes his life is still in shambles and yes he may not accept a captains choice but Corey Pavin cannot afford to be the guy that left Tiger off the roster.