Paul Azinger, captain of the triumphant United States team in the 2008 Ryder Cup, gets teed up for some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby before this year\u2019s tournament at Long Island\u2019s Bethpage Black:<\/p>\n
Q: What kind of an impact can the New York crowd make?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I think the New York crowd is going to be vital to American success. I feel like everybody should behave and will behave properly at this competition<\/a>. It\u2019s golf and there\u2019s a certain amount of decorum that\u2019s expected, and if you get too far out of line, you\u2019ll be asked to leave. But the enthusiasm of the crowd is going to be\u00a0critical, and the American team cannot lose that energy if they want to win. So I\u2019m sure Europe is thinking, \u201cIf we can take the crowd out of this the first morning\u2026\u201d And I think Europe\u2019s goal is to blitz and jump on the American team the first morning. I warned Keegan [Bradley, the U.S. captain] about how they prepared last time. Europe practiced playing three-hole matches against each other for decent amounts of money and they kept switching the groups around, and the whole idea was to play three-hole matches in an effort to realize that you had to get off to a hot start, a quick start in your little money match. And that was the tone that Luke [Donald, the Europe captain] set, so that when those guys got on the first tee on Friday morning, they were ready to pounce and the Americans, most of \u2019em had taken five weeks off. We were completely outprepared. So I warned Keegan about that. I told Keegan I felt like that they may do the same thing, but they may have to study the course, you know? It\u2019s gonna be an interesting dynamic. Keegan can\u2019t lose the crowd. The Americans need to jump \u2019em the first day.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fans seek autographs during the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black on Sept. 24, 2025. AP<\/p>\n Q: What\u2019s the most raucous Ryder Cup crowd you remember?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I would say our 2008 Ryder Cup was crazy-great in Louisville, Kentucky. But you have to go back probably to \u201999, when that was going on there, that big comeback at Brookline, is probably the biggest. It\u2019s hard to say because they\u2019re all just massive now. I\u2019m trying to remember Hazeltine, that was some of the greatest drama, some of the most dramatic stuff with Rory [McIlroy] shaking his finger at Patrick Reed, then Patrick Reed shushing or vice versa. That was probably as loud as it could ever get. It feels\u00a0 like all the big-time crazy crowds have always been in the U.S.<\/p>\n Q: The psychological warfare that you remember best?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: There\u2019s an element of gamesmanship in match play \u2014 psychological warfare, that\u2019s a little deep for what they\u2019re trying to do. There\u2019s a measure of gamesmanship<\/a> that I think is accepted when you play match play. It\u2019s kinda fun to chat and talk at your guy sometimes. When a guy has a putt that\u2019s juuust not quite a gimme and he\u2019s looking at you like he\u2019s begging for you to give it to him \u2026 that\u2019s the fun of match play. \u201cDon\u2019t even look at me like that, I\u2019m not giving you that.\u201d Stuff like that (laugh). It\u2019s great, it just is great. It\u2019s really a race to see who can get the most relaxed the fastest. Because the intensity and the anticipation now is building dramatically. I feel like that angst and that anticipation, it\u2019s a big deal for them, and it just builds and builds until you finally get to tee off. And then it becomes a race to see who can get back into their head, normal thinking, and who can relax the soonest, the fastest. Europe pounced on us last year. I actually set the Ryder Cup up last year like that. I think it\u2019s a race to see who can get relaxed the quickest, and Europe won that race by a wide margin.\u00a0<\/p>\n Paul Azinger (c.) pops champagne after Team USA\u2019s Ryder Cup win in 2008. Getty Images<\/p>\n Q: Could you describe the difference in emotions, the euphoria and the disaster of winning and losing a Ryder Cup?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I would say it\u2019s so empty to lose \u2014 or tie. It\u2019s as if it was a waste. And then you get home and no one says anything to you and there\u2019s nobody waiting for you, and you don\u2019t know what to say. It\u2019s hard, it\u2019s devastating to not win it, I\u2019m telling you. It affects the players. To win it is euphoric. And it\u2019s euphoric while you\u2019re with the players and you\u2019re hanging out. And then when you leave, it goes back to a little bit what Scottie Scheffler said: \u201cHappy for like six minutes, and then I\u2019m ready for the next tournament.\u201d Remember when he said that? You don\u2019t realize your legacy building when you\u2019re doing it. Winning it is euphoric while you\u2019re with the players, because it is truly a team effort. I feel like our team in \u201908, those guys, they continue to play practice rounds together in their little pods, which is kinda cool (laugh). And I love all the guys I ever played with and against at Ryder Cup. Playing against those guys now, we realize now our generation was the generation that everybody first fell in love with the Ryder Cup. They were all watching us doing it.<\/p>\n Q: Why is the pressure on the U.S.?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I feel like they have to always win at home, and they were dominated by the same group of players that are coming back, which is very rare in a Ryder Cup. I feel like the New York crowd can be hard, too. The pressure\u2019s to get off to a good start the first morning.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Q: Why is the U.S. the underdog?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Europe\u2019s returning 11 of the 12 guys, and the one guy that wasn\u2019t on the team last year, his identical twin brother was on the team. So it\u2019s the 12 same heads, but it\u2019s one different person (laugh), which I think is hilarious. Experience is definitely an advantage here for Europe, they\u2019re gonna be confident, they outprepared the Americans by a wide margin the last time, and we just don\u2019t know what to expect out of the American team at this point. Interesting dynamic of American players. I like our team, but I feel like the pressure\u2019s on them.<\/p>\n Q: What do you like about the U.S. team?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I like all their personality styles. I like the way they compete. You\u2019ve got a superstar in [Scottie] Scheffler<\/a>, you have all those steady, real rock-solid personality types like Xander Schauffle and Collin Morikawa. Then you\u2019re mixing in the Bryson [DeChambeau] element, which is an interesting dynamic. I would use Bryson as best I could to anchor the third or fourth [pair] out, [or] maybe even start matches. But I think he\u2019s the most beloved player on the team, and I would have Bryson out as much as possible.<\/p>\n Q: If you were giving a pep talk to this team, what would you tell them?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I would just remind them, really, because I don\u2019t think great players need pep talks, I think they need reminders of how good they are. They\u2019re the 12 best that we have to offer to represent the United States. That\u2019s a given. I feel like my message to them would be that we can\u2019t hope for this or wish for this, we have to outprepare these guys, and I would try to have the players bonded with a secret somehow in the way they prep. I would come up with something creative to make them feel like they\u2019ve done something that the other team hasn\u2019t. But the bottom line is they\u2019re big-time professionals and they\u2019re great at what they do. But I think the message of preparation is just a reminder that you\u2019re not there to hope for it or wish for it, we still have to outprepare these guys.<\/p>\n