Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 24, 1995 TAG: 9505240071
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The 1995 Ryder Cup Matches still are four months away, but U.S. captain Lanny Wadkins already has on his game face.
``I was talking with Seve [Ballesteros] on the West Coast earlier this year,'' Wadkins said, ``and he told me he hoped that the course [Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y.] was going to be set up real nice.
``Well, real nice to those guys guys means no rough. I just looked at him, laughed and said, `Seve, you'd better check your ankles at the door [to Oak Hill], because that's going to be the last time you see them for a while.'''
While Wadkins' game has been buried in the heavy rough - his 185th-place position ($54,114) on the 1994 money list was his worst in 24 years on the PGA Tour - the Richmond native has welcomed the challenge of leading the Americans against the Europeans come Sept.22-24.
``Being Ryder Cup captain has taken up a lot of time I could have been working on my own game,'' Wadkins said. ``But that's all right. This is a one-in-a-lifetime deal. I'm honored to be the Ryder Cup captain.''
Wadkins, in Hot Springs this past week for the Virginia State Golf Association's 1995 media day, acknowledged the role has meant increasing demands on his time.
``There is so much planning to do,'' he said. ``The captain has to make sure the golf course is just right. Then there's other stuff like transportation, lodging, meals and so forth. The captain has to draw up the menu. I'm letting my wife [Penelope] handle that.''
Wadkins' biggest chore will come Aug.14, the day following the 77th PGA Championship at Riviera in Los Angeles. That's when Wadkins will announce his two captain's selections to the team. The first 10 players on the team come from the top of the Ryder Cup points list.
Wadkins said the current top four on the points list - Davis Love III, Corey Pavin, Loren Roberts and Peter Jacobsen - ``should be locks.''
``Then we have [Ben] Crenshaw and [Phil] Mickelson, who both are over 550 points, so that gives us six guys who are in good shape to make the team. Those first six are a pretty solid nucleus.''
Kenny Perry, Tom Lehman, Mark Calcavecchia and Jay Haas are seventh through 10th in points. Scott Hoch and Brad Faxon are 11th and 12th.
Wadkins noted that past Ryder Cup mainstays such as Payne Stewart (14th), Curtis Strange (16th), Tom Kite (20th) and Fred Couples (29th) may not qualify automatically.
That could all change, of course, by mid-August. There are thousands of points still at stake. For instance, a winner of a major gets 300 points, which could elevate a player by a dozen or so spots on the list.
Wadkins said he has four players in mind for his captain's choices: Fred Couples, Curtis Strange, Tom Kite and Paul Azinger.
``I'd feel very secure right now if I could have that first six and have Couples and Curtis make the team,'' Wadkins said. ``That would be eight of the 10 and I'd have two more selections.
``But Couples is way down the list and I don't think there's any disagreement among anyone that he's the top American player when he's healthy.
``But right now his back is very bad. That would be a very tough pick, not knowing what the status of his back would be during matches. We're talking 36 holes the first two days and I'm not sure he can make that. But I'd hate to have a team and not have the best American player on it, too.''
Strange hasn't won a title since the '89 U.S. Open, but his game appears to have resurfaced this season. Plus, Wadkins said, Strange knows Oak Hill. He won the Open there in '89 and finished fifth there in the 1980 PGA.
``Curtis has performed real well on that golf course and I don't have to tell anyone in Virginia what kind of competitor he is,'' Wadkins said. ``I know what's inside of Curtis and I definitely want him on my side.''
Kite has been slumping - he's 100th on the '95 money list - but it's difficult to overlook his Ryder Cup record, Wadkins said. Kite has a 15-9-4 mark and is undefeated in singles (5-0-2) in seven Ryder Cups.
``I'd like to see him playing a little bit better than he's been playing lately, but I would like to have him,'' Wadkins said.
Azinger missed most of the 1994 season while undergoing cancer treatment and fell way down the Cup points list. The 1993 PGA champion has competed on the past three U.S. Ryder Cup squads.
``If he gets his game together, I think he'd be a great addition,'' Wadkins said.
Wadkins said his two at-large selections will be based ``on who's playing well and who can best handle the pressure.''
``I really think I'll look at who can handle the situation,'' Wadkins said.
``Regardless of what anyone says, Ryder Cup is different from a regular PGA Tour event. I've won a PGA championship, been in a playoff for the PGA, finished second in the [U.S.] Open, been close in the Masters several times and I've never experienced the pressure in other events that I have in Ryder Cup competition.''
by CNB