Corey Pavin is no longer a bridesmaid

By Doug Farrar
July 28, 2010


Sammamish, WA — It's been one of those years for Corey Pavin; the kind of year where you miss it by that much like Maxwell Smart, and spend your time standing a yard away from Forrest Gump, watching all the cool stuff happen to someone else. In June, he lost to Bubba Watson in a playoff at the Travelers on the PGA Tour, and he lost the Senior British Open last week by one stroke to Bernhard Langer, despite shooting a 70 to Langer's 72 on Sunday. And he's come so close to winning of late despite the distractions that come with his status as the Ryder Cup Captain. As he prepares for the U.S. Senior Open this week, Pavin reflected on how he'd been able to keep everything together.

"Why is that, huh? It's one word: ‘Lisa,'" he said, referring to his wife. "She's done all the behind the scenes stuff. We've talked about what I would like to get accomplished and what she would like to get accomplished, but she is making it all happen. I'm involved, obviously, but I'm not in the day-to-day type of things for very much. There are a few things, but it's going to get different now coming up with the PGA and the eight guys making it on points, then I have my four captain's picks on September 7th, so my duties are going to get a little more plentiful here for myself.

"Lisa has helped so much and it's allowed me to concentrate on my golf when I'm out on the regular tour. I've had more time than other captains have had maybe because Lisa is helping out, it's a true joint effort with her, and I wouldn't be playing as well as I am. It's allowed me a lot of freedom with my time. "

Still, the Ryder Cup is never far from his mind, and he was asked Wednesday about whether Tiger Woods would be on the team. Pavin will talk to Woods about his interest in the tournament next month at the PGA Championship, and there isn't much debate in Pavin's mind about whether Woods will make it on points — he's currently got the eighth and final qualifying spot. "I'm pretty confident he's going to make it ... he's got Bridgestone, which he's won the last seven of 11 years, something like that, and the PGA Championship. I think he's playing better and better as the year goes on and I expect him to play well the next couple of weeks and make it on points."

Pavin wasn't sure about who might make it on a "no matter what" basis. "I don't have a list of 11 or 12 guys that, you know, I drew up a while ago and said ‘that's what I want on the team,'" he said. "I'm playing it as it comes to me. I'm not a hypothetical guy, I don't sit around and think, what if this, what if that. So I'm basically waiting for the PGA to end. And when that ends and I have eight guys that are definitively on the team, then I'm going to get serious about who I think the four players that will complement those eight the best. There has been extremely small amounts of conjecture on my part because to me it's a waste of time and energy to think about that very much."

On the subject of his own game, Pavin talked about how Sahalee sets up for him this week. You'll hear the same thing from just about every player when it comes to the importance of accuracy at this course, but it also seems as if the shorter drivers, like Pavin and Fred Funk, almost have an advantage.

"I played yesterday and I'll play this afternoon again but the first impression was [that the course] had a lot of trees on it and it was tight," he said. "The whole golf course is beautiful. I played here in 1998 in the PGA Championship and I remember that it's a wonderful course and it requires placement off the tee more than distance, which is a good thing for me. I just have to hit it very straight here, keep the ball in play.

"The shots into the greens are demanding here and it's a wonderful old-style golf course. It's funny coming from Carnoustie, and standing on the tee. It's such a different look, but that's what's fun about what we have to do, we have to play different styles and adapt quick and I love the condition of the golf course here. I think it's set up perfectly. Hopefully the greens won't get too hard out there — they were pretty firm yesterday morning when I played — but I think the course is in great shape and it's going to be a pretty strong test this week for us."

Are the shorter drivers on tour — the "dinosaurs" — still able to win at any level, and does a course like Sahalee set up for just such a concept? "If I'm a dinosaur I hope I'm a T Rex or something like that, but for me obviously driving distance has never been, I've never been high in that and I've probably been last the last 10 years at least (he currently ranks 194th). That's just my game. There are certain golf courses that fit my game and Hartford is one of them and Colonial is one of them and those are tournaments I like to play and I feel like I have a chance to do well."

Corey Pavin has come so close to victory this year, his first on the Champions Tour. It wouldn't surprise anyone if he was four days away from getting that much closer.

Golf Equipment Depot News Index
To continue shopping click here