By T.J. Auclair
Special to PGATOUR.com

The PGA of America on Monday made official what had been speculated for some time -- that Paul Azinger will captain the 2008 United States Ryder Cup team when the biennial matches against Europe are held at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky, Sept. 16-21, 2008.

"I just want to say that it is, I think, the greatest honor you can bestow on a professional golfer is to ask him to captain a Ryder Cup team, and I'm awestruck by it," said Azinger.

The 46-year-old Azinger, a member four Ryder Cup teams (1989, 1991, 1993 and 2002), will attempt to turn the tide for the once-dominant Americans, who have watched Europe win five of the last six meetings. The European's second straight 18½-9½ win at the K Club outside Dublin, Ireland, in September gave them three straight wins for the time in Ryder Cup history.

Azinger is the 25th Ryder Cup Captain and the 15th PGA champion to guide a team in one of the world's most compelling sports events. He has won 14 worldwide professional championships since becoming a Tour professional in 1981.

"Paul Azinger's passion for the game, his courage to battle back from debilitating disease and his leadership in past Ryder Cups make him the ideal leader to guide the American team in 2008 at Valhalla," said PGA of America President Roger Warren. "Paul is one of the game's biggest supporters of the Ryder Cup and his performances have earned him the respect of his peers as well as many around the world."

In 15 career Ryder Cup matches, Azinger, the 1993 PGA Champion, compiled a record of 5-7-3, including a 2-0-2 mark in singles play.

Shortly after the 1993 Ryder Cup, Azinger was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in his right shoulder. Azinger overcame his battle with cancer and became a PGA TOUR winner for the 12th time in his illustrious career with an emotional victory at the 2000 Sony Open in Hawaii.

In his four Ryder Cup appearances, Azinger experienced both highs and lows. His American side tied the Europeans in 1989 (Europe retained the Cup, having won in 1987), won outright in 1991 and 1993 and lost in 2002. In 2002, he was chosen as one of then-captain Curtis Strange's two at-large selections.

In 1991 at Kiawah Island, Azinger earned a crucial point in his singles match with Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal, helping the American's to a 14½-13½ win.

In 2008, Azinger will square off against his ABC golf telecast booth-mate and Ryder Cup rival Nick Faldo, who will captain the Europeans.

Arguably the most memorable on-course battle between Azinger and Faldo came in their singles match at the Belfry during the 1993 Ryder Cup. Faldo had a hole-in-one in the match and, despite the fact that the U.S. had picked up enough points to win the cup, the feisty Azinger fought back to earn a half-point.

Azinger later joked when NBC Sports showed highlights of that singles duel, "Look at that. I had cancer and he still couldn't beat me."

"It will be a good rivalry," Azinger commented, "but it's America vs. Europe -- not Nick vs. Paul."

Azinger even pointed out that he had received a congratulatory text message from his European counterpart two minutes before taking the podium for the captain's selection announcement.

Faldo issued a statement immediately following the announcement of Azinger's selection.

"I played in three Ryder Cups when Paul was in the opposing side, and for the last two years we have worked together commenting for the ABC network. I feel that we have respect for each other both on and off the course, and I am certain that we will both enjoy the challenge of captaining our respective teams at Valhalla in just under two years time."

Azinger was approached by the PGA of America about the possibility of captaining the U.S. team at the 2004 Ryder Cup -- a squad many believed would be captained by Azinger's close friend, the late Payne Stewart, who died in a plane crash shortly after the American's last Ryder Cup win in 1999 at the Country Club in Brookline, Mass. However, Azinger declined.

With Azinger at the helm in 2008, the U.S. will be looking for its first Ryder Cup win since 1999. In the last two matches, the U.S. has lost by a record margin of 18½-9½ under Hal Sutton at Oakland Hills in 2004 and under Tom Lehman at the K Club in Ireland this past September.

Azinger is a native of Holyoke, Mass., and a resident of Bradenton, Fla. He attended Brevard Junior College and Florida State University before turning professional in 1981. He captured his first TOUR victory in 1987 and also earned that year's PGA Player of the Year Award. In 1995, he was honored by the Golf Writers Association of America with the Ben Hogan Award, presented to an individual who remains active in golf despite physical handicap or serious illness.

Azinger and his wife, Toni, have two daughters: Sarah Jean, 21; and Josie Lynn, 15.

Azinger joins a succession of golf's greatest players in the role of Ryder Cup Captain. Walter Hagen, the first Captain in 1927, was followed by such legendary performers as Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Lee Trevino.

Valhalla Golf Club, which has been the site of some of golf's most memorable championships, will host its first Ryder Cup. Designed by golf legend Jack Nicklaus in 1986, Valhalla Golf Club is undergoing a multi-million dollar modification program that is headed by Nicklaus.

In 1996, Valhalla hosted its first PGA Championship won by Mark Brooks in a playoff over Kenny Perry. Three years later, Tiger Woods and Bob May left an indelible mark on major championship golf lore as they competed in one of the greatest single-day duels in a major championship. Woods prevailed in a three-hole aggregate score playoff but only after May's 30-foot birdie putt missed by inches on the 18th hole.

Valhalla also hosted the 2002 PGA Professional National Championship, and in 2004, Hale Irwin birdied the 72nd hole to capture his fourth Senior PGA Championship by one stroke over Jay Haas.

The Ryder Cup began in 1927 when enterprising English seed merchant Samuel Ryder commissioned the casting of a gold chalice that bears his name. The U.S. Team defeated Great Britain, 9½ to 2½, in the inaugural matches in Worcester, Mass.

Since then, except for a span (1939-45) during World War II and following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks upon America, the Ryder Cup has been held biennially with the U.S. and Europe alternating as host. Since 1985, Europe owns a 7-3-1 advantage in golf's preeminent event.

The PGA of America's point system to determine eight of the 12 members of the U.S. Ryder Cup team begins in Jan. 7, 2007, and concludes Aug. 10, 2008, at the 90th PGA Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Mich.