Ryder Cup: Paul Azinger Shocks Everyone with His Morning Foursome Pairings

Paul Azinger shocked fans, analysts, writers and probably even his own team this afternoon when he announced tomorrow’s pairings for the morning foursomes matches.

Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim will take on Padraig Harrington and Robert Karlsson in the first match of the day.

These pairings were not all that surprising in that it was widely rumored that Mickelson and Kim would be paired together, not to mention yesterday’s incident where European Captain Nick Faldo’s pairing sheet was revealed through the lens of an ultra-strong camera.

He tried his best to cover up by reiterating that the camera had only captured today’s practice round pairings and not his pairings for Day One.

Clearly Mr. Faldo must have been happy enough with today’s practice round pairings to replicate them for tomorrow morning’s foursome matches.

Justin Leonard and Hunter Mahan will face Henrik Stenson and Paul Casey. 

This group will be followed by Stewart Cink and Chad Campbell vs. Justin Rose and Ian Poulter. 

The final match tomorrow morning will consist of Kenny Perry and Jim Furyk facing off against Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia, another one of Faldo’s pairings that were uncovered by the British media yesterday. 

Other than the opening pairing of Mickelson and Kim, Azinger’s pairings are not even close to providing the spark needed to get the American team off to a strong start.

The American team has not led at the end of a single day of Ryder Cup matches since 1999 and has been essentially demolished in the past two Ryder Cups. 

The American fans are showing a stronger-than-usual interest in regaining the Ryder Cup from the Europeans for the first time in nearly a decade and will be out in droves at Valhalla first thing tomorrow morning. 

Why Paul Azinger chose conservative, unexciting pairings for the first matches of the Ryder Cup event is somewhat baffling. 

Clearly the American team, who have been touted us the underdogs heading into tomorrow’s matches, need some kind of spark to get them going. 

There was one simple choice facing Azinger directly in the face, a choice that would have got the crowd at Valhalla rocking like an ACDC concert: Pair hometown favorites Kenny Perry and J.B. Holmes together and send them off first.  

Perry and Holmes both made clear their strong interest in playing together on Friday morning during their mid-week press conferences.

Hometown Kentucky fans have been salivating at the thought of showing their support and the strength of their lungs behind a Perry/Holmes pairing. 

The American team has started out flat and lackadaisical in the last two Ryder Cups and do not seem to finally get going until the Sunday match play matches; by that time, the European team has already began taking celebratory photos holding the Ryder Cup in one hand and their favorite beer or liquor in the other.

Sure, by pairing hometown heroes Kenny Perry and J.B Holmes together on Friday morning Azinger would have been taking a risk. 

If Perry and Holmes were to go out and get demolished in the morning foursome matches despite the support of their boisterous gallery, it could immediately take the wind out of the American team’s sails.  However, after nine years of defeat, clearly something must be done to get the American team sprinting out of the gate. 

A Perry/Holmes pairing would have immediately provided the type of excitement that would have oozed over to the other three matches, possibly even the other days, and it would have created a frenzied gallery of American fans. 

Perry and Holmes could have supplied that spark needed to set off the fireworks the American and particularly Kentucky fans have been waiting a long time to launch at Valhalla.

Not beginning tomorrow's foursome matches with a Perry/Holmes pairing could have absolutely no bearing on the outcome of the 37th Ryder Cup matches, but, Azinger also could have missed a golden opportunity to create that spark the American teams have been sorely missing over the past decade.