"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."
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Don't worry, the stray bloggers will be replaced by British tabloids soon enough after John Paul Newport looks at the role religion might or might not play in American Ryder Cup team selection (Thanks reader Dr. Ditto for the link).
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.
