Tossing It Up at Ryder Cup

U.S. team captain Tom Lehman, looking for an edge that could make even a tiny difference in a heated-up, too-close-to-call Ryder Cup, thinks he might have found it.

In the kitchen.

Victory this week at the K Club may not be on the menu for the U.S. but, if that’s the case, it won’t be the fault of Dennis Trixler, chosen by Lehman to cook up some kitchen magic as the players’ chef. Lehman wants Trixler to make the American golfers feel as if they’re at a backyard barbecue, rather than in the pressure cooker of the Ryder Cup.

And at this Ryder Cup, Trixler is confident he can bring home the bacon.

“I do actually think, if I can have just a little bit of influence on the Ryder Cup team, which I think I can, yeah, I can make a difference,” he said.

Trixler, 48, is a former PGA Tour pro who played in the U.S. Open five times. He also has caddied and cooked for Lehman, and has another job that doesn’t involve wearing an apron. He’s a broadcaster for XM Satellite Radio, which carries the PGA Tour network. Trixler also has a concept for a television show about cooking that he has named “The Golfing Gourmet.”

But Trixler, or Trix as he is called, is just as comfortable holding a whisk as a microphone. As a youngster in San Mateo, he marveled at the cooking expertise of his mother, Elizabeth, who was a wizard with a leg of lamb, prime rib or beef stroganoff. He enjoyed sitting down for dinner and said he had a “natural instinct” for cooking.

Even when Trixler was young, he made breakfast after sleepovers -- scrambled eggs (“moist but not runny”), bacon that he degreased between paper towels, and toast (“the corners buttered”). He kept the juice glasses in the freezer until ready to serve and heated the plates in the oven.

If it takes grill tactics to get the U.S. players in a better frame of mind at the Ryder Cup, then Chef Trix is up for it. He says he has cooked for Lehman probably a thousand times and that Lehman is well aware of his skill with a skillet.

“He knew what I brought to the table,” Trixler said.

Lehman says Trixler is just the guy to spice up the proceedings.

“He knows his way around a grill,” Lehman said.

He is still working out the precise menu, but Trixler wants to make sure there’s some spontaneity in Camp USA, so he remains open to suggestions. New York strip steak and grilled chicken breasts are distinct possibilities.

Whatever Trixler comes up with, it’s all part of the grand plan for a U.S. victory this week.

“What Tom is trying to do is Americanize the feeling in Ireland,” Trixler said. “Barbecue, chicken, steaks, chops, what do you want? Tom wants the feeling of normalcy.”

As for culinary capers, well, Chef Trix says cooking may be the role for which he was born.

“Some people are good at growing plants. Some people are good at art. I just love cooking,” he said. “I’m not shy in saying that because I can back it up.”

thomas.bonk@latimes.com

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TRIXLER’S FAVORITES

BARBECUED OYSTERS

* Ingredients: Oysters on the half shell, butter, olive oil, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon juice, lemon pepper, salt and parmesan cheese.

* What you do: Set oysters and cheese aside. Combine other ingredients in food processor, making a paste. Add teaspoon of paste on each oyster, place shellfish on grill, finish with dab of parmesan cheese. Cook for 20 seconds.

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CAESAR SALAD

* Ingredients: Romaine lettuce, anchovies, Dijon mustard, red-wine vinegar, Worcestershire and hot sauce, lemon juice, two egg yolks, croutons and parmesan cheese.

* What you do: Set lettuce, olive oil, homemade croutons and cheese aside. Blend ingredients in food processor, pour mixture over lettuce. Add olive oil, then toss salad with croutons and cheese.

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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

* Sunday, 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