Corey Pavin Likely to Replace Paul Azinger as Ryder Cup Team Captain in 2010

After a decade of painful defeat, Paul Azinger was finally able to bring the Ryder Cup back to America.

Azinger came to the obvious conclusion that some drastic changes needed to be made to an antiquated team selection process.

Azinger overhauled the team selection process to give him four captain’s picks rather than the customary two. This was done with the idea of selecting players who were in the midst of a hot streak heading into the event.

Azinger also spent a great deal of time, energy and money getting the American fans involved. 

Coined by Azinger as the team’s "13^th Man," the American crowd responded to Azinger’s call by turning Valhalla Golf Club into what could have been mistaken for Lambeau Field during an NFC championship game.

Azinger also managed to achieve something no American captain has been able to do in quite some time: He managed to get the American team to play as, well, a team.

Over the past 10 years fans have gotten accustomed to seeing American Ryder Cup team members looking as if they did not want to be there. 

In 2008, we saw a vastly different level of team camaraderie. 

We saw Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson tossing around high-fives after any shot that was even halfway decent.

Boo Weekley and J.B. Holmes’ antics threw the Kentucky crowd into a frenzy that clearly got into their opponent’s heads, particularly Lee Westwood, who looked as if he was downright disgusted by their antics. 

Unfortunately for Westwood, aside from the rowdy hometown crowd, Holmes is one of the PGA Tour’s longest drivers and Weekley is widely regarded as one of the best iron players in the world, and both of them were on top of their games all weekend.

Typically quiet and reserved tour veterans Kenny Perry and Jim Furyk displayed a youthful energy that made them look like Ryder Cup rookies. 

Azinger approached the 2008 Ryder Cup with three main goals: select players who were playing well heading into the event, get the fans involved, and somehow manage to create team unity.

As we all know, Azinger was able to combine all three aspects of his strategy with military-like precision.

The PGA of America typically announces its selection for the Ryder Cup team captain within a few weeks of the conclusion of the previous event. 

This year the Ryder Cup captain selection process has had to take a back seat mostly due to the fact that the PGA of America had far bigger issues to address, mainly a strategy for navigating through this recession that has no end in sight.

Three months after the victory at Valhalla, the PGA is finally ready to announce the Ryder Cup team captain and it won’t be Paul Azinger.

All indications point to Corey Pavin’s selection on Thursday in New York as the 2010 American Ryder Cup team captain. 

Pavin has had a decorated career with 15 PGA Tour wins, including a win at the 1995 U.S. Open.

Pavin has been a member of three Ryder Cup and two Presidents Cup teams and was one of Tom Lehman’s assistant captains at the 2006 Ryder Cup where the Americans got trounced at the K-Club in Kildare, Ireland.

Pavin has many qualities that would bode well for a Ryder Cup team captain and he will likely do a fine job in 2010 at Celtic Manor. 

However, as the old adage goes: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

The PGA of America typically does a very nice job in upholding the integrity and tradition of the game. 

However, as is the case with most organizations charged with upholding traditions, the PGA of America is sometimes slow to change its ways.

Not since Ben Hogan captained the 1947 and 1949 Ryder Cup teams has the PGA of America chosen a captain for consecutive terms.  

The PGA’s official stance is that it does not have any defined rule against selecting a captain for consecutive terms. 

However, history has clearly shown that although there might not be a defined rule, selecting a captain for consecutive terms is something the PGA of America just does not do.

In the case of Paul Azinger, it presented the PGA with a true test of its position on this issue and its ability to relent from a stance it has taken for nearly 60 years. 

What better opportunity has the PGA had in recent history to change its position on this issue than to extend the term of a captain who managed to bring the cup back to America for the first time in nearly a decade? 

If Azinger were selected to captain the 2010 team, he would be without one of his biggest assets from the 2008 Ryder Cup, that being his "13^th Man," the hometown crowd. 

However, what’s to say that Azinger could not come up with a new strategy that would be successful at Celtic Manor in 2010? 

After all, no one expected the American side to win the 2008 Ryder Cup, but it did.