THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 21, 1995 TAG: 9509210533
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVE ANDERSON, THE NEW YORK TIMES
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
When the Ryder Cup matches begin Friday, Curtis Strange will tee off at Oak Hill near Rochester, N.Y., for the first time since 1989 when he won the U.S. Open for the second consecutive year. But for all his precise shots and putts there, he is remembered for hurrying into the interview tent late that Sunday afternoon and leaning toward a microphone.
``Move over, Ben,'' he said.
Most of his listeners laughed with Strange, who became the first golfer to win the Open two years in a row since Ben Hogan in 1950 and 1951. But a few listeners frowned; they second-guessed his wisecrack as a little too brazen in shouldering aside the icon revered as ``Mr. Hogan.''
``I couldn't believe,'' Strange would say later, ``that some guys took it that way.''
Like it or not, that was Curtis Strange then, who was simply enjoying his sudden stature for having done what Ben Hogan had done. And like it or not, that is Curtis Strange now, whose presence on the 12-man Ryder Cup team as one of Lanny Wadkins' two captain's choices is considered a little too brazen.
If the American touring pros lose the Ryder Cup to the European team this weekend because Strange doesn't play well, his selection by Wadkins will be second-guessed. As it already has been.
``I don't think that's fair, but that's the way it is,'' Strange said. ``The No. 1 thing you have to bring to the Ryder Cup is a golf game, but I can bring experience and leadership. Talking to the other guys and having the guts to do it.''
Wadkins also named Fred Couples, who has been bothered much of this year with an ailing back that limited his schedule. But when his back is healthy, as it is now, Couples is arguably America's best golfer. Strange is no longer that.
Many observers thought Lee Janzen or John Daly deserved to be picked, but Wadkins preferred Strange even though the 40-year-old Strange hasn't won a tour event since that 1989 Open at Oak Hill.
Strange ranked only 23rd in Ryder Cup points, under which 10 of the 12 American golfers automatically qualified. This year he's 41st in PGA Tour money earnings with $358,175. He missed the cut in his last tournament, the Canadian Open.
But his Open victory at Oak Hill outside Rochester is one reason Strange was chosen. Another is that on a team with five rookies (Tom Lehman, Phil Mickelson, Jeff Maggert, Loren Roberts and Brad Faxon), he's a four-time Ryder Cup veteran.
Although his better-ball record is 0-5-1, Strange is 2-2 in singles and 4-2-1 in alternate-shot matches. He's also Wadkins' longtime pal from the time they were Virginia teenagers.
``Lanny recruited me at Wake Forest,'' he recalled. ``But of all the things he's done for me, giving me an opportunity to bring something to this Ryder Cup team is the best.''
Unlike tournaments geared to medal-play prize money, the Ryder Cup is golf's steamiest pressure cooker: competing for your country in match play with no prize money.
``It's exciting to put on the team stuff,'' Strange said, alluding to the shirts, slacks and sweaters he will wear instead of his sponsors' apparel. ``I always keep the team golf bags and the rain suits. I remember reading where Magic Johnson said he misses his uniform. We all feel that way at the Ryder Cup.''
Strange first wore a Ryder Cup uniform in 1983 when the Americans retained the cup at PGA National on Wadkins' wedge to within 2 feet on the 18th green. Two years later Strange took the final singles, 4 and 2, from Ken Brown, but the Europeans snatched the cup, 16 1/2-11 1/2, for only the fourth time since the 1927 inaugural.
Strange lost to Seve Ballesteros, 2-and-1, in 1987 when the Americans lost again at Muirfield Village, their first defeat on home soil. Two years later at the Belfry he rallied to win, 2-up, over Ian Woosnam in the last match, but the 14-14 tie enabled the European team to retain the cup it would lose in 1991 at Kiawah Island.
``I can't promise how I'll play,'' Strange said, ``but I've prepared hard and long. Especially my putting and short game.''
And Friday, wearing his Ryder Cup uniform for the fifth time, Curtis Strange will be teeing off at Oak Hill where six years ago he joked, ``Move over, Ben.''
This time he hopes to make the second-guessers move over. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Associated Press
U.S. Ryder Cup team captain Lanny Wadkins, left, chose Curtis
Strange over several more highly regarded players because of
Strange's experience and U.S. Open victory at Oak Hill in 1989.
by CNB