Pavin keeps his cool as Ryder rookies gear up for Friday
Corey Pavin was giving little away in his Ryder Cup press conference earlier today, despite the best efforts of the journalists in attendance.
In a 20-minute briefing, the assembled hacks attempted to draw Pavin's thoughts on how Tiger Woods had been greeted by his fellow players' wives and girlfriends and even how the US captain's Christianity might affect the team. If only Pavin's answers could have been as intriguing.
Perhaps hoping for some religious controversy, one journalist quizzed Pavin on whether his Christian faith would help the team bond. Pavin flat-batted the enquiry away in easygoing fashion, saying: "It's a personal issue, my personal preference. It has nothing to do with the team this week, we're just going out there to play golf."
On a possible frosty reception for Woods from the WAGS, Pavin was understandably circumspect. "Everything's fine, I haven't talked to anyone about that, it's not necessary."
That was as spicy as it got. Asked how his team was acclimatising to Wales, Pavin revealed the players had spent the evening "getting together, having dinner, hanging around the team room; we goofed around, played a little ping pong."
And on the golf course? "The players are relaxed, just taking a look at the golf course and mapping out their strategies, enjoying the nice weather, looking to see how they want to play the course."
Surely Pavin couldn't be poking fun at the British weather? Well, a little, but prodded further the captain refused to concede that the somewhat damp climate would faze his side. "Weather to me is not a big deal. Whatever the weather's doing seems to be less important when it comes to Ryder Cups. I've played a few Cups in rainy conditions, and you just kind of ignore it, you have other things to focus on."
So could we glean anything from Pavin's selection for practice today? For the US this morning, the pairs were as follows: Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson; Hunter Mahan and Tiger Woods; Matt Kuchar and Stewart Cink; Jim Furyk and Jeff Overton; Phil Mickelson and Ricky Fowler; Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson.
But Pavin was inscrutable on those groupings, commenting only that: "Hindsight will be good on Thursday when the pairings are announced, they'll become obvious later. You'll see different groupings in practice tomorrow." Of today's pairings, he added later, almost casually: "I just put 'em in groups together. I'm sure that Phil and his group are playing some kind of a match cause I don't think Phil can play without having some kind of wager. But I'm not about structure here, I just want them to play."
How did Pavin think the new blood would fare at Celtic Manor on Friday? "These rookies, they're aggressive, positive players, a different breed from the old days. They're going to come out firing. I just want to make sure they're emotionally under control. They seem quite relaxed now."
Would Pavin pair Tiger Woods with Steve Stricker, repeating the combo that worked so well at last year's President's Cup? The 50-year-old would only offer the following: "They're both great players. Tiger's been No. 1 in the world for a long time, Steve was playing great last year at the President's Cup. And those two are pretty tough to beat when they're playing at their best."
Okay, so the 1995 US Open winner didn't want to give pairings away. But how did he think his team would deal with a partisan crowd? "I think the rookies will be prepared. I don't think people are going to applaud bad shots or missed shots anyway. In my experience, there's a nice pause if an American misses a putt, a nice polite pause before there's applause. There might be a comment here and there but it's few and far between, the fans are pretty respectful."
On the risk that his players would be underprepared, Pavin was relaxed. "I'm not worried about players having a week off before the tournament. They've got to be aware of their emotions, and not to over-practice after flying over, they can do a little more work tomorrow and the next day. It's all about being ready on Friday, not Tuesday or Wednesday."
So could Rory McIlroy's assertion that he would like to take on Tiger Woods motivate the world No. 1? "Anything that motivates the players is great. You don't need a lot of motivation but if the players use it in a positive way, that's great."
Was Pavin worried that the US team had failed to win on foreign soil since 1993? "This time, it's really going to come down to who makes the most putts. There's a lot of new blood on our team. We have a lot of aggressive, positive players, and I don't think they look at the history books in that regard."
So who had been Pavin's biggest influence as a Ryder Cup captain? "I played for three captains and all three of them brought something different to the table. [Dave]Stockton was very meticulous, he's a great guy with a lot of good advice. [Tom] Watson was a lower key type captain, obviously very competitive. I spoke with him right before we got on the plane.
"And Lanny [Wadkins] was captain No. 3 for me, I remember before the competition started he called me up to tell me to be in shape to play five matches, cause you're gonna play five matches. I'll always remember that he gave me that confidence."
But asked on what kind of captain Pavin would turn out to be, the two-time Ryder Cup winner just smiled and said "you'll have to ask the players that." Well, and possibly the players' wives? Maybe not.
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