Pavin acts mercenary on Woods
Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin of the United States has revealed that Tiger Woods will be dropped if it serves the team’s overall best interests. Though still ranked at World Number One, Woods’ performance has been slipping since returning to the green after a short break from golf after a series of family troubles, and Pavin isn’t prepared to take any chances.
In an interview with BBC Radio 5 live, Pavin candidly stated, “I am going to treat every player the same. The objective is to win the match and that's what I'm going to be trying to do, whatever that takes.”
Woods is a wildcard selection for the tournament against Europe on 1-3 October, but despite his outstanding stats on an individual scale, his team record is rather lack-lustre. This puts Pavin in a difficult situation; if Woods can break into his own again, then there will be no stopping the 34 year-old champion, but if given his current streak of performances, the team result could be disappointing.
"If in my judgment I think Tiger is to play five matches, or should play four or three then that is what I will do – that's my call as captain and I'll just have to wait and see what happens,” declares Pavin. “He told me he'll do whatever is necessary to help the team win and that is going to be my call. I will probably make that decision on the fly but I'm not afraid to not play him every match, that's for sure.”
Pavin went as far as to suggest the possibility of an epic pairing – that of Woods and Phil Mickelson, who won the 2010 Masters Tournament earlier in August. “I'm not afraid to put anybody with anybody,” Pavin states. “Any pairing is possible. Do I rule it out [Woods and Mickelson]? No. [But] I will certainly be asking the players who they want to play with and hopefully it will all work out.”
Other possible pairings for Woods could be World Number Four Steve Stricker. Subject to change, the United States team consists of Stewart Cink, Rickie Fowler, Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Jeff Overton, Steve Stricker, Bubba Watson, and Tiger Woods.
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