Pavin staying sharp at Allianz Championship

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Corey Pavin is enjoying being a rookie - again.

BOCA RATON -- Corey Pavin has been a professional golfer for almost three decades, but he's embarking on a season like no other.

For one thing, he's starting over -- at 50 -- by joining the Champions Tour as a fully-exempt member.

"Only in golf can you be a rookie twice," Pavin said at this week's Allianz Championship at Broken Sound. "But this time, I'm doing it with a lot more experience."

The other major change is no matter what Pavin accomplishes on the golf course this year, he will be best remembered for what happens in Wales the first week of October when he doesn't hit a shot. So it goes when you're the captain for the U.S. team in the amped-up Ryder Cup.

Pavin was one of the grittiest players in Ryder Cup history, using his tenacity to overcome a lack of distance and post an 8-5-0 record in three Ryder Cup appearances. While Pavin will obviously do everything possible to help his team win, he said his season won't be defined by the Ryder Cup result.

"Of course, I want us to keep the Cup," Pavin said. "But my goal is to prepare my team and let them be in their element as best as I can. If I do that, I will consider the week a success. It's like when I play in a tournament. If I play as well as I possibly could, it doesn't matter if I win. It's obviously better to win, but the key is to do the best you can."

Pavin won 13 PGA TOUR titles -- highlighted by the 1995 U.S. Open -- but only one of those victories came in the last 13 years. He was one of the players who seemed the most hurt by the technological advances in equipment the last decade. While the other players kept getting longer, Pavin remained shorter than a 5-year-old's patience.

Last year, for instance, Pavin ranked last on the PGA TOUR in driving distance at 259.0 yards. That was almost 10 yards less than the next-to-last player (Brian Gay) and more than 50 yards behind the leaders.

Think about it: Pavin routinely gives up about 700 yards per round -- which is like spotting the rest of the field a par-5 and a par-3.

He'll get some relief on the Champions Tour -- the Old Course at Broken Sound plays at 6,807 yards. That's 659 yards less than the distance of this week's WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

"The courses are a lot shorter out here, and that's going to help me," Pavin said. "But at the same time, that gives the longer hitters a greater advantage."

Pavin will find a way to compete. He always has. He finished T13 in his Champions debut last month in Hawaii. He also has made one cut in three starts on the PGA TOUR this year while keeping an eye on his potential team members.

Pavin plans on taking a one-month break from competitive golf in September to concentrate on his captain duties. He insists his obligations haven't affected his level of golf.

"Actually, my wife Lisa is doing a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff," he said. "I've leaned heavily on her, and it's really freed me up. It's been great that I can go out, talk with the guys, walk around the driving range, sit around in the locker room, sit at lunch and talk with guys, just let them know I'm around.

"I want them to know that I'm watching and very interested in everything that's going on out here. So when the time comes, I will know every individual very well."