After numerous failures and embarrassments, the Americans went on to win the Ryder Cup this weekend. Despite the fact that Tiger Woods couldn’t play, the team managed to win, thanks in a large part to the efforts of Paul Azinger. Although some have said that his changing of the rules and manipulation of the course are the only reasons the American team won, it is clear that after five long years, the victory is welcome.
"He put a lot into this, his heart and soul," Toni Azinger, Paul’s wife, commented. "It is something that he really thought about and worked on. If you ask me, it's his biggest accomplishment." Considering that Azinger has managed to beat cancer and become one of the most talented players in the game, that is certainly saying a lot.
"This is bigger to me than anything I've ever been a part of," Azinger stated. "I just can't tell you. … It was the plan coming together and the guys embracing it." The plan paid off, and changing around the order of players has been called a stroke of genius. Victory has never come easily to the American team, with only one other Ryder cup win in 1993, but this time, the team played well, despite being stacked with numerous rookies and the quality of the players on the European team.
It was no easy feat to go up against greats like Nick Faldo, but Azinger’s strategies saved the day. The rookies played well and the captains that Azinger chose managed to lose only one game between them. Overall, it was a good showing for the US team and proof that even though the rules had to be tweaked a little, the Americans are fully capable of bringing home a Ryder cup.
"It looks like a good move now, doesn't it?" Azinger mentioned, after the US won the first Friday morning round – a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since 1991. "It wasn't so much that we play better one way or the other. It was just change for the sake of change."
The way Azinger structured his team has also been widely applauded. Anthony Kim, Hunter Mahan, Justin Leonard and Phil Mickelson were placed in one group. Kenny Perry, Boo Weekley, J.B. Holmes and Furyk were in the second. And, last but not least, Stewart Cink, Steve Stricker, Ben Curtis and Chad Campbell were placed in the third group.
“We just decided to come together in small groups; that was it," Azinger said. "They were never going to come out of that little group."
Now that Azinger managed to bring this one home, there is already talk over whether he can do it again, like Nicklaus managed to. For now however, he seems content to bask in this victory, at least for a little while, before moving on to plan next year’s Ryder Cup strategy. If it is anything like this years, it will certainly be a game that the entire world will tune in to see.
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