Trying To Rein In The Zinger

By MICK ELLIOTT

LUTZ - Dave Stockton, wise and experienced in all things Ryder Cup, laughed when conversation turned to Paul Azinger and the ruckus this year's American captain recently created with candid comments in a London newspaper.

Stockton, at TPC Tampa Bay last week for the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am, captained an American Ryder Cup victory in 1991. Now, in a move so smart it's confounding no one thought of it earlier, Stockton and another former captain, Raymond Floyd, will serve at Azinger's request as assistant captains, bringing a wealth of experience to the team.

When making the selections, Azinger targeted insight and knowledge from past competitions as the foundation of his decision.

Another responsibility, Stockton admits, may be protecting Azinger from himself.

"Well, Paul is not the calmest person I have ever met," Stockton said. "And he's very opinionated. He does not like to lose. He will say what's on his mind.

"At the Ryder Cup I'll try to control him to some extent, because I know he gets too excited. He gets all fired up and ready to go: We've got to take them out. The whole nine yards. Which is fine, because he cares."

The raw-nerve competition that the Ryder Cup has become can make for a combustible chemistry, already proven by a British firestorm created by a London newspaper story.

In typical straightforward form, Azinger was quoted criticizing European team captain Nick Faldo, whom he once sat beside in the ABC broadcast booth, for past boorish behavior as a player.

"The bottom line is that the players from his generation and mine really don't want to have anything to do with him," Azinger was quoted as saying. "He did what he did as a player and there are consequences."

Back in America, most golf fans chuckled, rolled their eyes and braced for what undoubtedly will be the next fire Azinger ignites. But in Europe you would have thought he had mugged the queen.

"First of all, that's the British press," Stockton said. "Although it doesn't surprise me. It's not going to be the last thing he says that people take wrong. But it's not about your captain's personality. As long as he has the loyalty of 12 players who bond behind him, it's not going to make a difference. If he does create an incident, it is going to be by supporting his players. It's not going to be for his benefit - which cannot be said about a lot of other captains, you know."

Azinger played on the 1992 team that Stockton captained to victory at Kiawah Island. He has long admitted a fascination for the competition and over the years continually picked Stockton's brain for insight into strategy and pairings.

The two are also good friends. When Azinger was going through cancer treatment in 1994, Stockton and his wife, Kathy, moved out of their home in California to allow Azinger and his family to live near the hospital.

"So, yeah," he said. "We know each other pretty well."

It is with that background that Stockton looks at Europe's five victories in the last six matches, including three straight, and says Azinger is the perfect fit.

"I don't foresee any problems," Stockton said. "I told Paul I thought it was great for him to be captain over here rather than overseas.

"I think Paul and America now are in a perfect situation. It's eerily similar to us at Kiawah Island, when we had not won in six years. I look at it as a great opportunity for Paul, and he has put his heart and soul in it, just as I would expect. I expect great results."

Print this Email this Blog this  IM this

MORE FROM TAMPA BAY ONLINE

Tampa Bay Online Section Front

Police Officer's Family Intends To Sue County Over Death   Police Seek 2nd Man In XTC Robbery   Police Charge 2 Suspects In Bank Robberies   Man Robs, Fondles Girl At Gunpoint   2 Polk County Sheriff's Pilots Survive Copter Crash   Heck Of A Homestand   Hudson-Gulf Game Moved To Saturday   The Search For EL DORADO   Old Is New Again Tampa Bay Online Section Front   Add Tampa Bay Online headlines to your news reader: