More than a game for Azinger

7:09pm Sunday 14th September 2008

Without naming any names this time Paul Azinger has once again made gamesmanship a talking point ahead of this week's Ryder Cup.

Asked if the "dirty tricks" side of golf was still going on at the matches America's captain, who back in 1991 called Seve Ballesteros "the king of gamesmanship", replied: "It's alive and well.

"You don't always see it. It can be a spoken word or early walking in the middle of a backswing. I could mention things, but I don't want to start an international incident."

Azinger's remarks in an interview he gave to the American magazine "Golf World" will intrigue anyone who has followed recent matches.

Europe's players were accused of a deliberate go-slow policy during the controversial 1999 clash in Boston, but perhaps gamesmanship - ploys designed to upset the opposition - has just become more sneaky since then.

Tiger Woods said after the 2004 match in Detroit that the Presidents Cup was a lot more enjoyable than the Ryder Cup "probably because at the Presidents we're all good friends and you see more sportsmanship.

"That's the way the Ryder Cup used to be, but it's become sidetracked."

When pressed on whether he had witnessed "bad sportsmanship" in any of his matches since his debut in 1997 Woods replied: "Let's not say sportsmanship. How about gamesmanship?" Like Azinger, he refused to elaborate.

Chris DiMarco had earlier referred to "the hatred of the Ryder Cup", which prompted Lee Westwood to say: "If Chris thought last time was bad in Detroit, he should have been in Boston."

Prior to the last match on American soil Ian Poulter, who made his debut that week and is back now for a second cap, commented controversially: "I'm into more subtle things. I wouldn't want to step over the line, but I definitely plan to get under their skin."