Pavin all atwitter at Ryder Cup presser - but is Montgomerie a safe bet?
Corey Pavin's US Ryder Cup team have touched down in Wales, where the US captain laughed off the idea that Europe had already as good as won the tournament.
At a press conference where he joined his counterpart European captain Colin Montgomerie, Pavin was told that one bookmaker had already paid out on bets that the European team would win the competition. The 50-year-old good-naturedly responded: "Who'd you bet on?"
Unsurprisingly, Pavin wasn't giving much away in his exchanges with the press, though the two captains appeared relaxed and at ease, despite the American having stepped off a plane at Cardiff Airport some 45 minutes or so before.
The man once known as "Crazy" Pavin professed himself to be looking forward to a "great competition," as did Monty, though he refused to follow Montgomerie's early example by revealing whether or not he'd already decided on his opening pairings for Friday. "I have a pretty good idea what way we're going to go," he told reporters.
The pair shared a similar stance on internet-based social media for their players over the course of the competition, however. Pavin had previously announced that Twitter would be off-limits to his men, adding today: "The team has come to a consensus not to use Twitter since it can be a little distracting sometimes.
"We've decided as a whole to not tweet this week. Although first thing a week from today I'm sure there will be tweeting all over the place."
Monty concurred, adding: "Social sites can get oneself into trouble. We'll be focusing on the job at hand this week. We have to focus on that job - the team will be on social network sites on the Monday, but not until then."
Other subjects included Jim Furyk's win at the Tour Championship this week, which netted the Ryder team member and world No. 5 player some $11.75million. As Pavin said, somewhat understatedly, it was "quite a payday for him." Asked whether the team had celebrated Furyk's win on the flight over, Pavin was more circumspect however, saying only that "we had a nice trip over."
Monty was asked on the health of Peter Hanson, who withdrew from last week's Vivendi Cup with Flu-like symptoms, and Lee Westwood, who has been out since August with a calf injury. And the news was positive for both men, Monty confirming: "I spoke to Peter and he's raring to go. And Lee Westwood has been playing a lot of golf, he played 36 holes in one day last week."
On the issue of Tiger Woods, the Scot looked bemused by reports that he would have left the world No. 1 off his team. "I don't know where that's come from, I didn't speak to any journalists yesterday. I've always said that Tiger is the best player in the world and the best player in my opinion who's ever hit a ball. I'm delighted to see Tiger here and I'm just look forward to seeing him play."
On the question of how the US team would fare in poor weather conditions, Pavin refused to accept the US would be at a disadvantage. "Everybody has to play in the rain as far as I know. We've got guys who enjoy playing in the rain; our guys can embrace playing in any weather. You're focused on trying to win your matches, you don't really notice the weather."
So how would Pavin's team overcome the Europeans on their home turf? "It's hard to win over here. We have a pretty good squad. I think it's going to be very competitive, I think it will come down to who makes the putts. It's going to be very difficult to win here, but we have to overcome that to keep the trophy in our hands.
Both men were complimentary about Wales' hosting of the event, with Montgomerie commenting: "It's the first time the Ryder Cup has come to Wales, and I'd like to congratulate Wales on the staging of this event. It's been superb."
Pavin added: "It's great to be in Wales. All of Europe is being represented and it's nice to see the Cup move around from place to place. We're excited and looking forward to a great week. Wales will put on a great show."
The Ryder Cup tees off Friday morning.
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