Paul Azinger couldn’t sleep Sunday night.
The last man to captain the U.S. to a Ryder Cup victory, in 2008 at Valhalla, was “sick’’ to his “stomach’’ about the most recent loss by the Americans, who were routed by Europe 16 ½ to 11 ½ at Gleneagles in Scotland.
Azinger was well aware of the international topic of conversation his name has become since Phil Mickelson lashed out at U.S. captain Tom Watson by lavishing praise on the job Azinger did in 2008.
“Unfortunately, we have strayed from a winning formula in 2008 for the last three Ryder Cups, and we need to consider maybe getting back to that formula that helped us play our best,” Mickelson said after the Americans lost the Ryder Cup for the third consecutive time, sixth in the last seven and eighth in the last 10.
But those aren’t the reasons Azinger couldn’t sleep. His insomnia was caused by his mind racing with ideas about how he can help the U.S. fix the broken Ryder Cup system it has in place.
“I was laying in bed and it was all flooding in my brain and I couldn’t sleep,’’ Azinger told The Post on Monday. “I’m thinking, ‘Jesus, do I want to take the risk and be captain again?’ Then I thought if I take the risk, it’s not going to be about winning or losing one Ryder Cup, it’s going to be about the beginning of a whole new system. I think I’m the only guy that can solve this, because I don’t think anyone else who can is seeing it like this right now.’’
The suits at the PGA of America need to look in the mirror and realize the good-old-boy Ryder Cup system they have in place is broken and Azinger can help fix it. Someone over there needs to pick up the phone and call Azinger immediately.
Remarkably, that’s something not a single big-wig at the PGA of America has done in the six years since Azinger helped lead the U.S. to its last victory.
Azinger said he “absolutely would never rule out’’ captaining the team again, perhaps in 2016 at Hazeltine, in Minnesota, but he does not want to be a Band-Aid fix; he wants to be a part of a big-picture fix.
“There needs to be more continuity … something that Europe has in place,’’ Azinger said. “Europe has a structure in place where generally you are a vice captain before you’re a captain, and after you’re a captain you’re around for a while. So they’re kind of all learning from each other, and when you have repeat players [from one team to the next] there’s not a lot of change in philosophy in how to run the teams.
“Their players know what to expect when they come to the Ryder Cup. We have a structure that’s more like a lone-wolf captaincy [Tom Watson], where everybody does something differently and they do it their way, so every two years it’s something completely different and unique.’’
All last week, European captain Paul McGinley spoke reverentially about the “template’’ he was following as captain, which had everything to do with sticking to the principles Europe’s previous captains had used successfully.
“We don’t need a maverick,’’ McGinley said before the matches began.
Another astute Azinger observation: The Europeans had future and former captains “roaming the fairways’’ at Gleneagles.
The vice captains for McGinley, who was a vice captain in 2010 and 2012, included 2012 captain Jose Maria Olazabal, a vice captain in 2008 and 2010, Sam Torrance, captain in 2002, as well as Padraig Harrington and Miguel Angel Jimenez, potential future captains.
Watson’s vice captains included only one former captain, Raymond Floyd, and one potential future captain, Steve Stricker.
“There needs to be a bridging of the gap between the PGA of America and the players, which is as wide as the Grand Canyon,’’ Azinger said. “I would like to be there as a part of the building of that bridge so that we can have the same continuity that the Europeans have when they pick their captain. I couldn’t be any more convinced of this.’’
Azinger defended Watson and Mickelson, calling them both “winners.’’
“Mickelson had the guts to step up and say something,’’ Azinger said. “Mickelson is a winner and he sees the bigger picture. I see Mickelson as the instigator of what is hopefully going to be a real effort by the PGA of America to fix what’s wrong. I believe that we’re only an eyelash away from winning these matches.
“This next Ryder Cup should not be whether we win or lose, it should be about us putting a system in place that is going to allow us to have to some continuity so that the repeat players aren’t getting shell-shocked every two years by a different captain’s philosophy. The next Ryder Cup should be the beginning of a new era. I would love to lead that.’’
Call him, PGA of America. Call him now. Or keep practicing your concession and congratulatory speeches.