The PGA of America made official what we have known for close to a week now - Paul Azinger is the new captain of the United States Ryder Cup team. Having been offered the job that Tom Lehman eventually took up for this go around, Azinger is now in position to try to re-establish the good name of United States golf in the event that Europeans have basically dominated for the past twenty years.

Paul Azinger is a very good choice as Ryder Cup captain. He is a long time, successful professional who has battled adversity in his life to recover from lymphoma. Undergoing such a life changing event puts golf into perspective - something that the Americans who typically comprise the Ryder Cup team seem to be missing. After all, the Ryder Cup is intended to be an opportunity for countrymen (or continentmen?) who are usually rivals to come together as a team, bond based on their individual talents, and achieve a significant team goal.

Zinger's take charge, blunt personality is a change of pace for the Ryder Cup captaincy. The past two Ryder Cup captains have not had personality types that can invoke fan interest in the event. Hal Sutton, who is actually quite fiery, did not project that image as captain to the public and almost seemed to be creating pairings on the basis of what the media would most like to have seen. Remember the Tiger/Phil debacle? That was the product of a lack of a cohesive strategy to win the Cup.



Tom Lehman, conversely, was certainly not a poor captain - but may be remembered best as the product of a poor selection system. With four rookies on the 2006 Ryder Cup team and probably eight of the twelve players struggling going into the event, Lehman had no chance to win from the second the team was established. He did the right thing by trying to create an aura of camaraderie, but it was so forced in such a short amount of time that there was no way it could develop into something remotely matching that of the Euros.

Azinger will likely not fall victim to either of these pitfalls. The PGA of America will be scared for the next two years about Azinger's honesty. He is a confident man who follows his gut instinct in what he says and how he acts. Just because he is now Ryder Cup captain does not mean he will go soft. Azinger is not far removed from the Tour, either - he still maintains his Tour card and his broadcasting duties over the past two seasons have given him a crucial perspective on existing and developing Tour talent.

On top of that, Azinger is not resting on his laurels and letting the current selection system doom him in the way that Cap'n Tom was. The PGA of America, in what is a move obviously based somewhat in desperation, has granted Azinger unprecedented power to change the selection process. Cap'n Zinger now has four captain's picks, almost assuredly an overreaction to having the Brett Wetterichs of the world on the Ryder Cup team. Azinger also went ahead and changed the whole points system. You can read about the details elsewhere, but basically the points system now emphasizes performance in the majors by granting extra points to high finishes in those events. Also, players complained about the prior system granting points for top 10 finishes in all PGA Tour events - meaning a top 10 at Reno-Tahoe was inconceivably as good as a top 10 at the Masters. No longer! Now, points are awarded between now and the 2008 deadline based on thousands of dollars earned, with an emphasis on the 2008 season.

Now, no one can say with any degree of certainty as to whether or not the captaincy of Paul Azinger will result in the United States recapturing the Ryder Cup. But, I am relieved that the PGA of America took a chance on a captain that is not going to stand idly by and allow United States golf to fade into mediocrity. Paul Azinger will go down as the man that saved the Ryder Cup or in a blaze of glory as a man who tried the best he could to adjust the system in a time where Americans cannot seem to find a way to beat the Europeans.

Regardless of the end result, this is going to be a hell of a ride, and that is just the kind of buzz that the Ryder Cup needs.