Always the Straight Man

Scott Verplank is 42, he hasn’t won a tournament in five years, he has had bad feet, shoulders and elbows, and if the U.S. upsets Europe in the Ryder Cup, he’ll probably be one of the reasons.

Verplank is playing on the Ryder Cup team for the second time as a captain’s pick, this time because Tom Lehman chose him, even though he was 20th in the points list. Lehman said he had his reasons, and they are clear-cut, even if they are intangible.

Verplank “is a tough, tough, tough competitor, who will never quit, never give up,” Lehman said.

The rest of the explanation why Verplank is at the K Club is about as straightforward as one of his drives.

He ranks sixth on the PGA Tour in driving accuracy, or fairways hit, and he is sixth in putting. Verplank is also in the top 20 in birdies, which always comes in handy in match play.

And there’s something else that helps Verplank’s game that few can see when he’s knocking the ball on the fairway or chipping it close to the flagstick or rolling in a putt. It’s a small, rectangular device hooked to his belt that looks almost like a pager, but it’s an insulin pump.

Verplank is one of almost 21 million in the U.S. who have diabetes, the fifth-leading killer in the country, according to the American Diabetes Assn. And although two of out three who are diagnosed with diabetes do not manage it properly, Verplank is an exception. The disease hasn’t slowed him down.

A pump drips insulin NovoLog through plastic tubing attached to a needle that’s inserted under his skin near his abdomen. A diabetic since he was 9, Verplank said the technology has allowed him another way to take insulin without injections four or five times a day.

“It’s been good, not that it’s been easy, because it isn’t, but it’s much better and so am I,” he said.

There are challenges this week for Verplank that do not involve golf. Besides trying to keep his blood-sugar levels in check across time zones, through the stress of physical exertion and uneven eating patterns, he could be subject to bouts of dizziness if he has a “high” or “low” level.

As one of two captain’s picks for a U.S. team that has won the Ryder Cup once since 1993 -- Stewart Cink is the other -- there’s a chance Verplank could play a vital role in the outcome. Curtis Strange chose Verplank with one of his captain’s picks in 2002, and as the first Ryder Cup rookie ever made a wild-card selection, he was 2-1-0.

Verplank has value to Lehman, especially in the alternate-shot format, because of his accuracy off the tee and his short game.

But it will remain for Verplank to show whether he’s a real difference-maker on the course or a medical footnote to another U.S. loss in the Ryder Cup.

Lehman said he has no concerns about whether Verplank can stand up to the test.

“He hits it straight, straight, straight, hits a lot of greens; he’s a great putter and chipper,” Lehman said. “K Club is the kind of golf course that can [have] thick rough and trees, and you’ve got to put the ball in play.”

The facts are that Verplank hits it straight, but he doesn’t hit it long. His 276.4-yard average is 187th, or close to last on the PGA Tour. But with four top-10 finishes this year, including consecutive ties for second at the Bob Hope and FBR Open, Verplank made Lehman a believer, despite the right shoulder tendinitis that brought on cortisone shots in midsummer.

A more recent medical problem was a rib injury Verplank suffered four weeks ago when he was being treated by a chiropractor for a back problem. Lehman was sufficiently concerned that he urged Davis Love III and Corey Pavin to be ready in case Verplank couldn’t play.

Lehman also told Verplank to play in a tournament before going to Ireland. So Verplank teed it up in the 84 Lumber Classic last week, and he missed the cut after shooting 70-78. Verplank insisted his rib felt fine, it was his putter that was ailing.

If Lehman had his reasons to trust him, Verplank is eager to show it wasn’t a mistake. When the U.S. team practiced at the K Club after the Bridgestone Invitational, Verplank was teamed with Chad Campbell and Ryder Cup rookies Zach Johnson and Brett Wetterich.

“With alternate shot, my game is pretty easy to match up with,” Verplank said.

It’s probably unfair to put too much weight on Verplank, or for that matter Cink, who is another straight-hitting, putting machine. But neither has played on a winning Ryder Cup team. Verplank and Paul Azinger were captain’s picks when the U.S. lost, 15 1/2 -12 1/2 , in 2002 at the Belfry; Cink and Jay Haas were captain’s picks in an 18 1/2 -9 1/2 loss in 2004 at Oakland Hills Country Club.

Europe’s team has been given high marks for its bonding ability over the years, but Verplank said that quality is probably overrated. He has another view on the togetherness issue.

“A lot of it is perceived,” he said. “The fact that we always have the two best players in the world on our team -- Tiger [Woods] and Phil [Mickelson] -- it kind of separates them, you know? The other team has 12 really darned good players, but they don’t have one guy who stands out far and away as the best player. So they don’t lean on that guy. Maybe we’ve been leaning on one or two guys too much.”

Verplank believes that Woods (who is 7-11-2 in Ryder Cup) will hold his own, but that’s not something for which he feels responsibility.

Verplank has his hands full already, trying to raise awareness about diabetes in a partnership with Novo Nordisk, a diabetes care company, through a “Changing Diabetes” campaign.

The aim is to encourage diabetics to manage the disease and avoid letting it set limits on people’s lives.

His diabetes in check and motivated to compete, Verplank said he can’t wait to start play, when the pressure is on and his heart isn’t going to be the only thing pumping.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be ready,” he said.

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thomas.bonk@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Ryder Cup

THE COURSE

* Matches will be played at the K Club, Straffan, County Kildare.

THE SCHEDULE

* Friday, USA, 5 a.m.-3 p.m. PDT

* Saturday, Ch. 4, 5 a.m.-3 p.m. PDT

* Sept. 24, Ch. 4, 5 a.m.-9 a.m. PDT

TEAM USA

* Captain -- Tom Lehman

* Team members -- Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Chad Campbell, David Toms, Chris DiMarco, Vaughn Taylor, J.J. Henry, Zach Johnson, Brett Wetterich, Stewart Cink, Scott Verplank

TEAM EUROPE

* Captain -- Ian Woosnam

* Team members -- Darren Clarke, Paul Casey, Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, David Howell, Robert Karlsson, Paul McGinley, Colin Montgomerie, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood

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Source: www.rydercup.com