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Jim Gray Angrily Confronts Corey Pavin Over Ryder Cup Reporting Flap

Earlier today, a report (via Golf Channel and Jim Gray) that U.S. Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin would select Tiger Woods for the team. Reportedly, he even went so far as to say:

“Of course I’m going to [pick him]. He’s the best player in the world.”

Strong words. One problem with them: Pavin claimed he never said them. USA Today’s Steve DiMeglio said, though, that Gray was sticking by his story:

But Jim Gray isn’t backing off his reporting. Should make for an interesting presser in 40 minutes with Pavin

He was right about that. In a report on the press conference, USA Today quoted Pavin as saying:

“[Gray's] interpretation of what I said is incorrect. There’s nobody that’s promised any picks right now. It would be disrespectful to everybody that’s trying to make the team.”

Gray, shall we say, did not take too kindly to this (despite that on the “calling out reporters” scale, this is as mild as it gets). DiMeglio tweeted on some intense/laughable post-conference events:

USA Ryder Cup captain and Jim Gray have heated exchange after presser. “You’re a liar,” Gray said to Pavin. “You’re going down.”

In an eyeball to eyeball conversation, Gray actually stuck his finger in Pavin’s face.

“You’re going down?” Literal finger-pointing? Really? If Pavin actually willfully misrepresented his comments (and by extension, maligned Gray’s reporting) at the press conference, then Gray should be upset. He should not, however, take out that anger in the manner of an elementary schooler.

We’ll likely never know whose side of the story is ultimately correct, so all we can really take away from this is Gray’s tantrum. And for a guy whose journalistic credibility isn’t exactly at an all-time high…well, we already made a “decision” pun the other day, so we’ll just say this was an ill-advised move.

H/T on DiMeglio’s tweets: Richard Deitsch

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