Believe it or not, the European press is preparing to pounce when the U.S. team travels to Celtic Manor in Wales for the Ryder Cup Oct. 1-3, and the main course is not going to be Tiger Woods. OK, it probably is; but another big target for them will be the religious makeup of the American squad. And in that regard, Tiger is kind of a fifth wheel. The majority of the U.S. squad, you see, — as well as three of Corey Pavin’s four captain’s picks — are all born-again Christians. And that’s not surprisng to some, being that Pavin is as well.
From the Wall Street Journal:
European attitudes toward America have improved slightly since 2006, but this year’s Ryder Cup team, which travels to Celtic Manor in Wales for the Oct. 1-3 event, is no less religious than its predecessor. The captain, Corey Pavin, and several of the players (not to mention Mr. Lehman, who returns as an assistant captain) are born-again Christians. Three of Mr. Pavin’s four discretionary “captain’s picks”–Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson and Rickie Fowler–are regulars at the PGA Tour’s weekly Bible-study sessions. Messrs. Pavin and Lehman are also frequent attendees, along with team members Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar. (The fourth pick, Tiger Woods, claims Buddhism as his religion.)
No one but stray bloggers has alleged that Mr. Pavin made his decisions based on religion–as golf picks they’re fairly unassailable. But the subject is close to the surface.
“It’s going to be an issue, for sure. The British tabloids will hop on it and hit it hard,” predicted Paul Azinger, the 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup captain and himself a born-again Christian.
Mr. Pavin declined to comment about how or whether his religious beliefs will be a factor in how he captains the team. Through a spokesman, he said it was a private matter.
A private matter? Where have we heard that before? Anyway, I guess you can count me as one of the stray bloggers who at least is bringing up the question. Isn’t it a coincidence that all the captain’s picks, save Woods, are born-agains who attend the PGA bible study group?
Pavin himself was raised Jewish, and didn’t convert to Christianity until 1991, after he was already on the PGA Tour. He said he did it because there had been “a void in his life.” The press here may let him skate without discussing his religion, but the European press is not that delicate.
Of course I now can’t help thinking of The Simpson’s episode in which Ned Flanders plays mini golf, and one of his shots misses the cup. Flanders looks up and says, “God, it’s me, Ned …” and a giant finger pokes down from the clouds and taps in the ball.
If that’s the case at the Ryder Cup, Pavin may be on to something.
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Religion and the Ryder Cup [The Wall Street Journal]
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- Rick Chandler - Sep 14, 2010 at 8:26 PM
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Calvin: “Do you believe in the devil? You know, a supreme evil being dedicated to the temptation, corruption, and destruction of man?”
Hobbes: “I’m not sure that man needs the help.”
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- Rich G - Sep 15, 2010 at 10:40 AM
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Praise The Lord for opening peoples hearts to have this discussion, for both believers and followers of Jesus Christ and for those who don’t know him YET, remember we are living in a lost dying world and the only way to get to The Father is through His Son. God Bless you all and The Ryder Cup team.
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- Clay - Sep 15, 2010 at 11:51 PM
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If the allegations are true, and it turns out that Pavin did chose the team based on the fact that most of them share the same beliefs, how is that any different than a tournament director giving a sponsor’s exemption to a player because they are drinking buddies? He may not be a worthy as another guy, but oftentimes it doesn’t work that way. Just something to ponder. Peace.
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- Lionel Young - Sep 16, 2010 at 8:43 PM
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Most of the Christians I know would be offended if they knew a golfer had been chosen for a Ryder Cup Team based on their faith. As an Evangelical pastor and an avid golfer who spends a lot of time on the links with believers and nonbelievers alike – I would be shocked if Pavin was motivated by anything other than putting together the best team possible. Rick – you should get out more – Christians play sports too – and some of them are just damn good.
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- Julian - Oct 2, 2010 at 11:51 AM
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As for x-tians, the more the merrier. After the rapture, I’ll get better tee times.
As for Pavin, the whole christian thing is just one more reason I think he’s an idiot.
As for christian golfer’s comment… Pascal’s Wager is a pretty damn weak (and cowardly) arguement for wasting your life on a belief system.
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- Doug - Oct 3, 2010 at 11:00 AM
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Randy,Randy,Randy.
I see racism and bigotry continue through evolution and migration to other races and religions. Randy, Randy, Randy. Hopefully for you they won’t grow and gather in mass, or drink out of your water fountain. You may have to do something more aggressive than write about it. I wise I could think of times in history when what you write about got out of control. Wow Randy.
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- Alex - Oct 6, 2010 at 3:16 PM
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It’s not surprising that Pavin chose players based on religion. Born again christians are the worst about forcing their beliefs on everyone else. Remember the Crusades where christians rampaged across Europe murdering non-christians?
