Paul Azinger has a chip on his shoulder about losing the 1987 Open at Muirfield to Nick Faldo. Apparently Nick gets bus-sick and has to sit in the front when he travels by road. And his hero was Björn Borg, which is why he was a selfish so-and-so in his playing days (eh?).

All this came out in a chat show, hosted on US TV to start promotion for the Ryder Cup in earnest. Both men complained that the professional game had become too much of a circus – as they sat in a press conference taking place a full 11 months before the first tee shot of Ryder Cup 2008.

It was good to see the two captains so easy in each other’s company. But surely Azinger must know he has to be rather more serious if he is to lead his team to victory. How many years has it been now?

Do the Americans stand a chance next September? More to the point – do they even care enough about the Ryder Cup any more?

(Image: from sfslim’s Flickr stream)