RYDER CUP: THE EARLY SCORECARD

By THOMAS BONK

Aug. 19, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

MAMARONECK, N.Y. —

It began raining Monday morning and, somewhere in a sea of umbrellas, Tom Kite wore a worried look.

Later, he stood at a news conference at Winged Foot, where he announced Fred Couples and Lee Janzen as his captain’s choices for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, then received congratulations from several of the PGA of America officials who were in the room.

More than one of them wished him good luck.

“I’ll need it,” Kite said.

Maybe so. The 12-player squad that Kite will take to Valderrama, Spain, next month to play Europe isn’t only young. It’s also inexperienced.

The only thing that kept Kite’s glasses from fogging up is that the U.S. contingent also is talented.

What isn’t known is how this team, however many flagsticks it is capable of knocking down, will perform on the pressurized, worldwide stage that is Ryder Cup play.

“I love this team,” said Kite, who indicated that his squad would be the underdog.

“That’s certainly a factor that we will have to face,” he said. “The European players know Valderrama [site of the annual Volvo Masters] like the backs of their hands. So we are behind the eight-ball there. But this is an impressive list of names.”

Couples and Janzen complete a U.S. team composed of Masters champion Tiger Woods, British Open champion Justin Leonard, PGA champion Davis Love III, Tom Lehman, Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson, Jeff Maggert, Mark O’Meara, Scott Hoch and Brad Faxon.

By selecting veterans Couples and Janzen, Kite tried to balance the relative inexperience of the players who made the team on points earned this year on the tour. Couples has played on the last four Ryder Cup teams and was a captain’s pick of Lanny Wadkins in 1995. Janzen played on the 1993 team.

Four players--Woods, Leonard, Furyk and Hoch--have not played Ryder Cup. Lehman, Mickelson, Maggert, Faxon and Janzen have played once each.

Only Couples, O’Meara and Love have been on more than one Ryder Cup team.

Kite believes few players are on a level with Couples.

“When Freddie is good, in my opinion, he’s as good as we’ve got,” Kite said. “I guess the thing in my mind is when Freddie wants to play, he’s the best.

“Freddie expressed numerous times to me this week, both in person and through other people, how much he wanted to make the Ryder Cup team. If you’ve got the best player in the game, or one of the best players in the game, and he wants to be on your team, then it makes sense to have him there.”

Kite said Couples’ talent outweighed such considerations as his back problems, his seriously ill father and the health problems of his girlfriend, Thais Bren.

“The Ryder Cup for me, I’ve had some ups and downs, but it’s always a dramatic week,” Couples said. “So it’s made a relatively long year coming in and I hope to be ready to play my best.

“I have been playing some fair golf, but not great. I think I can turn that around very quickly.”

Janzen, who was the 36-hole leader at the PGA here, played with Kite on the last day and shot a 69, finishing in fourth place by one shot over Kite, who had a 70.

Janzen might have played himself onto the team Sunday, Kite said.

“He helped his cause,” Kite said. “I don’t know how difficult it was for him, playing with me, knowing that I’m watching every shot, but he handled that situation well. If he can handle the Europeans the same way that he did that situation yesterday, we’ll do OK.”

Kite said that besides Maggert, who clinched a berth on the team Sunday when he shot 65 and finished third, Janzen was the only other potential captain’s pick who proved himself at the PGA.

“I was waiting for somebody to show me something,” he said. “I just needed somebody to not tell me in words they wanted to make the team, but tell me with shots they wanted to make the team. And Lee did that.”

Wadkins passed over Janzen in 1995 and selected Curtis Strange, a selection that was widely criticized even before the U.S. team lost to Europe at Oak Hill in Rochester, N.Y.

Kite said he was not trying to make up for Janzen’s exclusion by adding him to the team this time.

“That was not a consideration,” Kite said.

Janzen said he did not feel vindicated, at least not now.

“It might be too early to say if it’s a vindication,” he said. “In ‘95, I had more of a case to be on the team than I did this team. I don’t know, but for some reason, I expected a better chance to be picked this time, strange as it may sound.”

Couples finished 17th in the final Ryder Cup points standings, Janzen 15th.

Kite passed up No. 11 Tommy Tolles, No. 12 Steve Jones, No. 13 Mark Brooks and No. 14 Paul Stankowski. Kite said he carefully considered them all and also thought about David Duval, Payne Stewart, Corey Pavin and Hale Irwin.

Kite also said six players had suggested he name himself to the team, but added that the only way he would have considered playing was if he had qualified on points.

“I had a couple of people talk to me yesterday and they said the ironic thing about it, if I was not the captain, I would probably be one of the picks,” Kite said.

The European team is similarly young. Five players in the top 10 in points have no Ryder Cup experience--Darren Clarke of Ireland, Lee Westwood of England, Ignacio Garrido and Miguel Angel Martin of Spain and Thomas Bjorn of Denmark.

Martin’s status is in doubt because of an arm injury. He has not withdrawn but is expected to do so.

If Martin pulls out, European captain Seve Ballesteros could replace him with Jose Maria Olazabal and then use his two choices on Nick Faldo and Jesper Parnevik.

The European team will be completed Aug. 31 after the BMW International Open.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

About the Ryder Cup

WHEN: Sept. 26-28

WHERE: Sotogrande, Spain

COURSE: Valderrama. Designed by Robert Trent Jones, it is considered one of the most challenging venues on the European Tour, where it plays host to the Volvo Masters. Par 71, 6,818 yards.

FORMAT: Match play, including foursomes (two-man teams in better ball) and singles (individuals, 18 holes).

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Ryder Cup (Southland Edition, p. 7)

A look at the probable teams for the 1997 Ryder Cup to be played Sept. 26-28 at Valderrama in Sotogrande, Spain. The United States team was made official Monday with the announcement of the captain’s selection by Tom Kite. Qualifying for the 10 automatic spots on the European team continues for two weeks, but the captain’s selections for Seve Ballesteros seem obvious:

UNITED STATES:

Automatic Qualifiers

No. Player:

1. Tiger Woods: Pts. 1,185.00

2. Justin Leonard: Pts. 1,068.500

3. Tom Lehman: Pts. 1,022.953

4. Davis Love III: Pts. 957.168

5. Jim Furyk: Pts. 947.500

6. Phil Mickelson: Pts. 809.625

7. Jeff Maggert: Pts. 806.625

8. Mark O’Meara: Pts. 801.250

9. Scott Hoch: Pts. 791.952