Gritty, little, funny Bruin

NEWPORT BEACH — Corey Pavin was 35 when he won the U.S. Open in 1995. Up until that time he was like the Dan Marino of golf, the best to have never won a major championship.

Pavin, 50, smiled when he talked about the victory during, “Breakfast with a Champion,” an annual event part of the Toshiba Classic Tuesday morning.

“To get the media off my back was great,” Pavin told the sellout crowd of 500. “They can be tough.”

Pavin didn’t mind the media attention at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa. He welcomed questions from the guests and provided humor, as well as insight to the Ryder Cup in his interview with Hank Adler, the Toshiba Classic chairman emeritus.

As U.S. captain for October’s Ryder Cup in Wales, Pavin selected Tom Lehman, Davis Love III, Jeff Sluman and surprised many with the pick of Paul Goydos.

After the selections, Goydos responded by saying the choice was between he and Brett Favre, in reference to Fred Couples bringing along Michael Jordan to the Presidents Cup in September.

“What about Brett Favre?” Adler asked Pavin.

“I asked Brett Favre but he couldn’t make up his mind,” Pavin said, gaining laughter from the crowd.

Adler also asked Pavin about the chances of selecting Tiger Woods for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Woods, a part-time Corona del Mar resident, is returning to a routine that includes golf and fitness after his fallout that stemmed from infidelity, according to the Associated Press.

Pavin answered with another joke.

“Tiger said he’s coming back at the 2025 Toshiba Classic.”

He then changed his tone.

“I hope he comes back and plays. But he does have things in his personal life that he needs to put in order. I’ll have to wait and see when he comes back and go from there.”

Woods is six among the possible eight members of the Ryder Cup team, determined by a points system.

But Woods can’t hold the spot if he continues to sit out. Pavin will choose four others, and has until Sept. 7 to do so.

Pavin is no stranger to Ryder Cup teams. The 15-time PGA Tour winner has been on three Ryder Cup teams (1991, 1993, 1995) and he was an assistant captain in 2006.

He brought on more laughs when he said he was chosen as captain because he’s a Bruin and because an attribute for the role is high intelligence.

Being resilient certainly didn’t hurt Pavin, known as, “The Bulldog.” Adler introduced Pavin with some storytelling, noting that the former UCLA standout did not initially earn his PGA Tour card, and instead found great success internationally in 1983, when he won three tournaments.

Adler also pointed out that Pavin had been the PGA Tour’s money leader in 1991, the only time the No. 1 guy had made less than $1 million. To that, raised his hands, and shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “What can you do?”

Pavin’s U.S. Bank Championship victory in 2006 was also a topic of discussion. It marked 10 years from his previous PGA Tour win. He calls it one of the most important wins of his career because he had worked so hard to earn the victory.

Pavin also touched on a recent visit to Iraq, where he directed golf clinics for the military. That, too, remains a high point in his career.

As for elevation, Pavin went up to the rooftop after speaking. He participated in the Shot from the Top, 17 stories high, trying to get closest to the pin onto the second green at Newport Beach Country Club.

The media surrounded him. Pavin did not turn down any interviews, and teased his new opponents on the Champions Tour, Fuzzy Zoeller and Craig Stadler, about getting closest to the pin. This is Pavin’s first year on the tour for golfers 50 and over.

Pavin was closer to the pin than his fellow pros, coming within six feet of the pin. He watched and laughed as Stadler threw his club off the roof, in jest, because he was supposedly angry with not getting closer.

Tom Thomson, a sponsor and an amateur from Coto de Caza, outdid the pros.

He hit his shot to three feet, the closest shot to the pin in the six-year history of the event.

It was all in good fun, as the event raised $4,100 for charity. The sponsors agreed to donate up to $500 for each shot that went too far off the green.

Pavin said he was happy to be a part of it all.