Uneasy Ryder Choice Was Irwin

It’s heartwarming that Tom Kite likes his Ryder Cup team, especially since Lee Janzen became a fairly obvious captain’s pick by finishing fourth at the PGA Championship, shooting a 69 on the final day under the watchful eye of playing partner Kite.

But what if Janzen had missed the cut? What if the second choice, Fred Couples, hadn’t been quite so obvious?

Those close to Kite said in such a case, Kite would have picked David Duval, Hale Irwin or Payne Stewart.

Duval doesn’t have any Ryder Cup experience, but he was 3-0 in the Presidents

Cup last year. Irwin is 13-5-2 in Ryder Cup, but hasn’t played it since 1991. Stewart is 8-7-1 and has played four times.

Kite seemed most puzzled by Irwin’s situation as basically a Senior PGA Tour player. But if Janzen had faltered, Irwin might have been Kite’s best choice . . . hardest, but best.

“Probably nobody in the world has more guts than Hale,” Kite said. “The negatives, I had a tough time evaluating his performance because he’s playing the senior tour. It’s hard to compare a 68 on the senior tour to a 68 on our tour because you’re not playing the same players at the same golf courses.”

Kite also said that with his young team, the 52-year-old Irwin might not have fit in as well. The other side of the coin is that if he had won a couple of matches, Kite might have been surprised how quickly old Hale fit in.

THIS SCHOOL IS OK

Davis Love III, who clinched his Ryder Cup berth by winning the PGA Championship at Winged Foot Golf Club, said the PGA “was not Q school for Ryder Cup.” As if that’s such a bad thing?

It seems as though anything that brings more attention to the importance of playing well at the PGA is good because it automatically elevates the status of the fourth and final major championship of the year. At the same time, it’s also good publicity for the Ryder Cup, which has become one of golf’s preeminent events.

What’s more, both the PGA and Ryder Cup are run by the PGA of America, which certainly isn’t going to object to linking them together. Love’s comments were strictly from a player’s perspective, probably to blunt the pressure and prevent anybody from melting on the course.

Nobody can blame him for that. If you look at it, Love prospered despite it all, which makes his accomplishment even greater.

TAKE YOUR CUP AND FILL IT

Meanwhile, Ryder Cup uncertainty is running unabated in Europe.

Will injured Spaniard Miguel Angel Martin have to withdraw? Will Seve Ballesteros be forced to choose from among Nick Faldo, Jesper Parnevik and Jose Maria Olazabal for two spots? Will Parnevik, if chosen, be able to breathe, wearing those tight trousers?

Faldo said his record speaks for itself. But just in case, he put in his two cents’ worth.

“I’ve been second, third and fourth in my three European events and won in Los Angeles,” he said. “I have 10 Ryder Cups behind me, so I would’ve thought, on paper, the credentials are pretty good.”

As for all of the attention his Ryder Cup travails have received, Faldo feigned incredulity. However, he didn’t have to pretend his sarcasm.

“It’s amazing that it’s talked about more than Tiger!” Faldo said. “Can it be more important than Tiger? Geez!”

WE HAVE LIFTOFF

The John Daly watch continues. Daly shot a 66 in the first round of the PGA Championship and couldn’t help but praise his new Callaway golf equipment. Two days after that little love fest, Daly whirlybirded his brand-new Biggest Big Bertha into the woods after a bad drive on the 12th hole.

Some marshals retrieved the driver and it soon was returned to Daly’s bag. Daly clarified the news reports of the club he sent airborne.

“It wasn’t a throw,” Daly said. “It was more of a toss, really. A throw is when you throw it as hard as you can.”

CAN’T KICK

So bone spurs in Ben Crenshaw’s arthritic toe may put him on the shelf for the rest of the year. Just how did he hurt it in the first place?

It happened in 1982 at the Colonial. Crenshaw three-putted the 16th hole and was so steamed, he kicked an oil drum. He admitted his condition is “entirely self-inflicted.”

Now, 15 years later, his right toe is so bad, Crenshaw has seen a Houston foot specialist and is going to try orthopedic treatment before scheduling surgery for his arthritic toe.

The PGA was the fourth consecutive tournament in which Crenshaw, 45, missed the cut and 10th in 17. He also missed the first six cuts of the year. His $42,512 in earnings so far is a career low. Except for a tie for 19th at the Kemper Open, Crenshaw hasn’t finished higher than 40th.

TREAD ON FRED

For what it’s worth, Couples has a 5-7-4 record in his four Ryder Cup appearances. He is 1-1-2 in singles. Couples was 2-1-1 overall in 1995 at Oak Hill.

HEADLINES

The New York Daily News had a good week in the headline department during the PGA. When Daly was a first-round co-leader, the Daily News headline was “Daly News.” After Love won, here was the headline in Monday’s edition: “Davis Love The First.”

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

Yes, PGA champion Love is carrying on the Roman numeral thing. His 3-year-old son, Davis Love IV, is also known as Drew--for quadruple.

LPGA: A STAR TRIO

Annika Sorenstam, Nancy Lopez and Karrie Webb form the LPGA’s entry that will compete against players from the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour at Lake Las Vegas Resort in the Wendy’s Three-Tour Challenge.

The event, which will be televised by ABC on Dec. 20-21, benefits the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Since 1992, more than $2.2 million has been raised.

Webb’s victory at the women’s British Open was the second time she has won it in the last three years. Even though she was standing at Sunningdale Golf Club in Surrey, Webb seemed a little unclear about her precise geographical location.

She said, “I am over the moon. . . . I’m just over the moon.”

ARNIE AND TIGER

Arnold Palmer is 67 and Tiger Woods is 21, which means there is a definite generation gap. But as far as notoriety goes, there’s not much difference between the old legend and the new one, which makes next week’s charity event pairing of Palmer and Woods so appealing for history buffs.

Palmer and Woods will play Tom Lehman and Love in a Golf Channel special Monday and Tuesday that benefits the Latrobe Area Hospital in Pennsylvania. Woods committed to the event without receiving an appearance fee.

Palmer explained how that happened.

“I grabbed him by the leg at Augusta and twisted it really hard,” Palmer joked. “He was very nice about it. As you can imagine, the requests for him to do this type of event are just overwhelming. The good news is, I got him pretty early on.”

ARNIE AND TOM

Palmer said Kite made the right decision when Kite didn’t name himself to the Ryder Cup team. Palmer was the last U.S. playing captain in 1963.

“He needs to use every second he has deciding who he is going to play and when they’re going to play,” Palmer said. “That takes a little time. When I was playing captain, it was a problem. It was something that you get in your mind while you’re playing and you tend to lose the significance of the Ryder Cup.”

MAJOR PERFORMERS

Everybody knows how hard it is to win a major. Ask Colin Montgomerie or Parnevik or Phil Mickelson. But it’s also really hard to even make the cut. Only 15 players made the cut in all four of the majors this year.

They are Woods, Couples, Kite, Lehman, Love, Montgomerie, Parnevik, Stuart Appleby, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Justin Leonard, Mark O’Meara, Vijay Singh, Tommy Tolles and Lee Westwood.

SCHEDULE NOTE

Since 1969, the season-opening Mercedes Championships, formerly the Tournament of Champions, has been held at La Costa in Carlsbad. It’s still more than 16 months away, but the 1999 version of the event has had a difficult time finding a home.

It looks official now: Kapalua Resort on Maui the week of Jan. 7.

The whole thing got about as involved as finding a table at Longhi’s in Lahaina. PGA officials couldn’t figure out where to hold the Mercedes tournament and thought about Waialae on Oahu, the longtime site of the Hawaiian Open, which was supposed to be dead. Kapalua officials said they would host the Kapalua Open the week of Jan. 14.

In the end, the Hawaiian Open got new life when the PGA decided to keep it at Waialae and gave the Mercedes to Kapalua.

As for La Costa, it’s getting a match-play event, not yet scheduled, in 1999. Mahalo.

BIRDIES, BOGEYS, PARS

The Lexus Champions for Charity Series’ Big Brothers Golf Classic will be played Sept. 8 at Riviera Country Club. More than $5.2 million has been raised in the series. Details: (703) 905-4307. . . . Bear Mountain Golf course has extended its Twilight Special through August. Greens fees are $13 Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays beginning at 4 p.m. Details: (909) 585-8002. . . . The Santa Barbara County Championship will be held Oct. 4-5 at La Purisima Golf Course and Sandpiper Golf Course. Entry deadline for the 36-hole stroke play event is Sept. 28. Details: (805) 735-8395. . . . Former football player-bobsledder Willie Gault is the honorary chairman for the third Papashon Celebrity Classic, which will be held Nov. 24 at MountainGate Country Club. Details: (310) 855-0172.