On the Cover: The 'Captainess,' Lisa Pavin
The image above is the cover of the September 2010 issue of Avid Golfer magazine (Dallas/Fort Worth edition). It shows Lisa Pavin, wife of American Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin, and it's generating a bit of buzz across the Web. And even across the pond: The British Independent writes:
"It looks like the American Colin Montgomerie has most to fear from in next month's Ryder Cup won't be Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson or even Tiger Woods. Oh no. Instead it's the American captain's wife, Lisa Pavin, who is probably giving the European captain sleepless nights - not least because of a fairly revealing photoshoot for this month's edition of the American golf magazine Avid Golfer."
"Fairly revealing" might even be an accurate description of Pavin's covershot when compared to the way it was described on golfchannel.com: "The article includes numerous photos of a scantily clad Lisa Pavin and comments that stretch the traditional role of a captain's wife."
Numerous and scantily clad? Actually, all the inside photos that accompany the article are fairly staid. Lisa with her daughter, Lisa with her husband.
But the "stretch(es) the tradition role of a captain's wife" is certainly true of Lisa, both for her Avid Golfer cover shot and for her continued outspokenness. The Avid Golfer article (which is, alas, no longer online) is a very interesting read and details some of the brouhahas in which Lisa Pavin has been involved - and also details how involved she is in some of the behind-the-scenes decisions about the Ryder Cup team (outfits, menus, etc.).
Does the conservative PGA of America wince when it sees stuff like that covershot? Or are PGA officials - in private - pleased at all the Ryder Cup publicity Lisa is generating on her own?
One thing that's safe to say is that the PGA has probably gotten more than it bargained for when it named the by-reputation-softspoken Corey Pavin as its 2010 Ryder Cup captain. Pavin got involved in the imbroglio with reporter Jim Gray that ended in a public shouting match. Lisa had previously badmouthed another reporter on Twitter (she no longer has a Twitter account). And now comes Lisa's covershot that is variously described as "fairly revealing" and "scantily clad."
I would simply call it unusual for someone in Lisa's position.