DATE: Thursday, October 9, 1997             TAG: 9710090701

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG                      LENGTH:   83 lines

KITE READY TO MOVE ON HE SAYS THE ONLY NEGATIVE HE'S TAKEN OUT OF THE RYDER CUP IS THE OUTCOME.

Tom Kite's first public appearance since the United States team he captained lost the Ryder Cup at Valderrama 10 days ago rekindled his faith in humanity.

``People at Kingsmill have been unbelieveably supportive,'' Kite told the national media during a 65-minute conference call Wednesday. ``I can't tell you how many people, not just players and tour officials, have come up to me and said, `We wished you had won, but we're proud of you and we're proud of the team and proud of how you all did.' ''

Kite, a 21-year tour veteran with seven Ryder Cups on his resume, has had virtually every decision he made second-guessed in light of Europe's 14 1/2-13 1/2 triumph at Valderrama in Spain.

He wasn't as forceful as European captain Seve Ballesteros. The Spainard not only orchestrated changes to the golf course and the format of the competition, he literally told his players what clubs to use and what shots to hit.

``Certainly, Seve was a lot more hands on than I was,'' Kite said. ``There's no question he was around and closer to the players more. But I never left the golf course. I was out there with them on the practice range and was there until after the last match. I never went to bed before 1:30 in the morning, and was usually up until 3 or so. If some of the guys, or their wives, wanted to talk, then I was available to them at all times, then was up early to make sure things were set up for them.''

Kite said he went to his team after the first day of competition and asked if they wanted him to take a more hands-on approach.

``The answer was, `No, we're big boys, we've won tournaments on our own, we can do this.' ''

Ryder Cup player Lee Janzen supported Kite's contention Wednesday that the Americans didn't want Kite hovering over them, directing their every move.

``If Tom had tried something like that with us, we'd have tied him up and put him in his room,'' Janzen said. ``And I think he knew that, too.''

Kite explained that on the few occasions he offered advice, it backfired.

``There were two instances with Tiger (Woods) on 17 that I told him the putts he had were unbelieveably fast,'' Kite recalled. ``One time, he knocked it in the water; one time, he knocked it 20 feet past. It seemed to have the opposite effect.''

More than anything, Kite blamed his team's unfamiliarity with Valderrama with America's second consecutive Ryder Cup loss and fourth in the last seven.

``I played a practice round with Sandy Lyle and he said he was watching the tournament on TV and predicting what was going to happen to us,'' Kite said. ``He'd say, `He's going to miss this to the right' and we'd miss to the right. Or, `This putt's a little slower than it looks,' and we'd leave it short. There was an awful lot to learn about the golf course and we were not able to learn in all in such a short time.''

Not that he didn't try.

In July, just before the British Open, Kite invited the top 25 U.S. golfers to join him at Valderrama to get a feel for the course. Only three players who joined him on the team made it.

``If I had to second-guess myself, it would be because I was not more forceful in asking guys to come to Valderrama,'' Kite admitted. ``But it's tough to ask guys to take two or three days out of their schedule when they're preparing for the British Open.

``By the same token, there were a number of articles that said that (not insisting they show) was a huge mistake on my part. But it was the first time a captain ever asked guys to play the golf course prior to the event. ... It's a start. I bet the 1999 European captain insists his team comes to The Country Club (in Brookline, Mass.). The next U.S. captain has got to make sure our guys go to The Country Club and know it. It's the one advantage being on this side of the ocean we have. The competition is even.''

Kite has not been mentioned as a candidate for the 1999 captaincy. Although he said, ``I played in seven of them and never felt the pressure, combined, I felt as captain this last time,'' he didn't rule out taking another crack at the job if it was offered.

``There's one competitive side of me that says, `Dang right I want to do it again,' '' he said. ``But there's this other competitive side that says, `No, I just want to play golf again.' I infringed a lot on my family time the last year and a half. I'll have to confer with my family and weigh the decision long and hard. Except for the outcome of the matches, I couldn't have had a better time.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

LAWRENCE JACKSON/The Virginian-Pilot

``People at Kingsmill have been unbelieveably supportive,'' Tom Kite

said Wednesday.

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