GOLF / DAN HAFNER : Wadkins Would Like to Do Double Duty

Lanny Wadkins has won 21 PGA tournaments, including the PGA Championship, and played in eight Ryder Cup matches.

At 44, he hopes to play a couple of more times in the international team event that is becoming golf’s biggest.

But, according to the U.S. captain for the 1995 U.S. Ryder Cup, Wadkins will have to earn his way on the team.

The captain is Lanny Wadkins.

“I think the time has passed for me to be a captain’s pick,” Wadkins said when he was chosen as captain recently for the next international match at Oak Hills in Rochester, N.Y. “From now on I will have to earn a spot. The way I’ve been playing the last two years I haven’t earned it.

“It was an honor to have Tom Watson choose me, but I think it was more to be an inspirational leader for the younger guys. In eight Ryders I won 20 matches, which certainly gave me the experience. I think I’m capable of playing well enough to earn a spot, I just have to prove it. This was not a good year, but I was in contention going into the final nine in both the Open and Masters.”

Wadkins said he was approached a month ago by executives of the PGA of America and told that eventually he would be captain of the U.S. team. He was asked when he thought that should be.

“How about tomorrow?” he asked.

“There’s nothing I wanted more than to be the captain. It is an honor I will always cherish.”

The last playing captain of the U.S. team was Arnold Palmer, like Wadkins a Wake Forest alumnus, in 1963.

“It’s a lot tougher to be a playing captain now,” Wadkins agreed. “Arnie played in six matches that year. Now, the captain has to protect his players from all the hoopla and the media, make out the pairings and be the cheerleader. I saw how busy Tom Watson was this year.

“When my name was the one placed in the envelope (meaning he did not play) on the final day, all I could do was watch. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. The Ryder Cup is the only time I ever watched anybody play golf. I saw what Tom went through. It’s harder than going out there and playing, believe me.

“But I am a golfer first, and I have pride in my game. My goal is to play well enough to be one of the 10 who qualify on points accumulated. If I don’t, I won’t be on the team.”

Wadkins, whose first of 20 Ryder Cup matches was in 1977, is best known for a spectacular sand wedge shot in 1983 on the 18th hole the final day that landed inches from the cup to clinch the victory for the United States, 13 1/2-12 1/2.

“It was a 72-yard shot,” Wadkins said, “and it may have been the most important of my life. It has served me well ever since. When I get into pressure spots, I always look back and remember what happened then. I win some and I lose some, but I always remember.”

The United States won all the big international matches this year, including the Dunhill and the World Cup, but Wadkins doesn’t think that means the balance of power has shifted back to the Americans.

“When I first played,” Wadkins said, “it was played against the British, Scots and Irish. Now it’s all of Europe. I don’t think winning all the international events--including Corey Pavin beating Nick Faldo in the match-play championship--proves anything. It just means we had a good year.

“There is great competition around the world and I think there is a balance of power. I have been on the losing side and I have been on the winning side, but what’s really great is the competition.

“The enthusiasm and the competition among the players is the reason the fans have concluded it is a great event. What I like is that we are friends before the event and friends afterward.”

Europe has chosen Bernard Gallacher, whose team barely lost this year, to return as captain. Wadkins’ and Gallacher’s Ryder Cup careers are closely entwined.

“I beat Bernard for my first Ryder Cup victory,” Wadkins said. “On the other hand, I lost to Bernard for my first Ryder Cup defeat.”

Golf Notes

Lanny Wadkins, who joined the tour 23 years ago, won the PGA, his only major, in 1977 and helped the U.S. win the Ryder Cup that year. In 1985, when he was No. 2 in the money winnings, he was player of the year. One of his three victories that year was the L.A. Open. . . . Defending champion Davis Love III and six other Ryder Cup players are among those who have qualified for the Mercedes Championship (formerly Tournament of Champions), the opening event on the PGA Tour next year, Jan. 6-9 at La Costa. Al Geiberger is the defending senior champion in that event.

With John Daly suspended, Jim Gallagher Jr. will replace him in the Pro Stakes Championship at the Ko Olina Golf Club on Oahu Dec. 31 and Jan. 2. He will compete against Fuzzy Zoeller, Chip Beck and Peter Jacobsen for a $500,000 purse. . . . The two top Skins money winners, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, will join Raymond Floyd and Lee Trevino in the $450,000 Senior Skins Game at Mauna Lani Resort on the big island of Hawaii Jan. 29-30. Palmer is tops among seniors with $740,000 in skins, and his $985,000 is second in combined to Nicklaus’ $1,250,000 . . . Mike Scioscia, former Dodger catcher, will play host to his 10th annual golf tournament to benefit the Wheelchair Sports, Recreation and Outdoor program of Casa Colina Centers for rehabilitation on Monday at the Industry Hills Sheraton Resort. Among celebrities competing are Orel Hershiser, Fernando Valenzuela, Tim Wallach, Darryl Kile, Mickey Hatcher, Fred Lynn, Bill Sharman, Mike Lansford and Reggie Doss.