Paul Azinger has a very good idea of the work which goes into winning the Ryder Cup, having been on the victorious side on three occasions as a player and captain.
Azinger made his debut in the Ryder Cup in 1989 when the event ended in a tie at The Belfry. But he was part of the American side which won the War on the Shore two years later, and then retained the trophy in 1993.
Remarkably, that remains the most recent occasion USA has won the Ryder Cup on European soil. Azinger, however, did not win a single match from his five that week.
It really did appear that Azinger changed how the American side approached the event during his stint as captain in 2008. He introduced the pod system that meant that those likely to play together spent a lot more time together throughout the week.
Paul Azinger suggests the PGA of America has made a mistake ahead of the Ryder Cup
USA won that week at Valhalla. So Azinger is well-placed to suggest what it takes to be successful at the Ryder Cup. And it seems that he is a little disappointed with one crucial decision the PGA of America made ahead of Bethpage in September.
There was no question that selecting Keegan Bradley as US captain was a real gamble, with Bradley inside the top 20 in the world rankings when the announcement came.
It seems that Azinger has no issue with the prospect of Bradley being a captain. But speaking to The Golfer’s Journal, the 65-year-old suggested that he has jumped the queue to make up for the fact that he was not picked to play on the team in 2023.
“That was a mistake by the PGA of America. I love Keegan, he’s my bud, but it’s a little early for Keegan. I think it was like a guilt pick,” he said.
“There’s guys out there that deserve to be captain: Justin Leonard for one, Stewart Cink I think deserves it. They’ve played Ryder Cups and are major title holders and all that. They kind of jumped them. They jumped a couple of guys, David Toms for sure. He won the PGA, you can’t turn your back on those guys.”
The Ryder Cup backroom careers of Justin Leonard, Stewart Cink and David Toms
It is a surprise to know that Leonard has only ever been a vice-captain for the 2024 Presidents Cup. The 1997 Open champion was part of Azinger’s team which won in Kentucky 18 years ago.
Meanwhile, Stewart Cink was a vice-captain for the first time in 2023. As reported by Golf Channel, Cink admitted to being disappointed to miss out on the captaincy to Bradley.
Toms was overlooked in 2014 in favour of Tom Watson. And he has not been involved since. At this stage, it is difficult to imagine the 58-year-old getting a call.
Much may depend on how Bradley fares. Should the 2025 Ryder Cup prove to be an overwhelming success from an American perspective, the PGA of America will surely look to go down a similar path for 2027.
And of course, all plans are likely to be thrown out the window whenever the time comes for Tiger Woods to decide that it is his turn.
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