PATE EARNED THE GIG; SINGLE DECISION, NO COUPLES.

Byline: Karen Crouse

Ben Crenshaw named Agoura Hills' Steve Pate to play on the U.S. Ryder Cup team over Fred Couples.

In other news: The shy guy outrivaled the quarterback for the coolest girl in school, the indie movie with no marketing muscle pummeled the overhyped studio flick at the box office and the diligent worker got the office promotion over the slacker.

After mulling his options, Crenshaw took his best shot and brought justice back into play.

Good for him for making the proper decision over the popular one.

Until Couples resurfaced at the PGA Championship in Chicago, we assumed he had left the game - another in 1999's exodus of beloved sports stars - and had simply forgotten to post his official retirement announcement on his hometown newspaper's Web site or something.

Couples took off the entire month of July, thus missing the British Open, the third leg of golf's Grand Slam. Between Memorial Day and Monday's Judgment Day, Couples graced four PGA tournament fields (three fewer than Pate and five fewer than Tom Lehman, Crenshaw's other captain's pick).

It was a curious scheduling quirk for anybody with serious aspirations of improving his Ryder Cup standing. Imagine a UCLA senior going on vacation the week of third-quarter finals, then expecting to graduate alongside his class with honors anyway.

At the British Open, Couples could have gone to school on the European players the U.S. team will face at the biennial matches in Boston Sept. 24-26. Instead, he rested his achy back and came to Chicago a month later and tried to cram for the test. He didn't ace it, finishing in a tie for 26th.

Pate, meantime, broke par in three of the four rounds and found himself in an eighth-place tie, seven shots behind the winner, Tiger Woods.

After his clubs had done a less-than-convincing sell job, Couples expressed hope that his record would speak for itself.

We understand that Couples is the only U.S. player under 50 who has competed in five Ryder Cups. But if experience alone is enough for selection, then why not just scrap next year's Republican and Democratic primaries and vote for for either Al Gore or Dan Quayle for President. After all, they have the most White House experience of all the 2000 presidential candidates.

In fact, character and consistency - in both word and deed - count as much as personal history when we're choosing a leader. And so it was for Crenshaw when it came time for him to place his votes for the 11th and 12th men to do battle against Europe.

Couples said he wanted to play on the Ryder Cup team, but Lehman was the one who added tournaments to his schedule, at the expense of at least one European outing that had promised him a sweet fee simply for showing up.

Couples, 39, promised to practice really hard if he was named to the team, but Pate, 38, was the one who has been putting in an honest day's work all year. The former UCLA standout has quietly posted nine top-10 finishes in 21 events, including two seconds and a near-miss at the Masters.

Couples has played 14 events and posted no top-3 finishes. In the 12 PGA events that Couples and Pate both have entered, Pate has placed higher in seven.

Crenshaw said he believes Pate ``is right in his golfing prime.'' To have seen the equanimity Pate exuded in the suffocating stretch of the closing holes at the Masters on his way to a fourth-place finish is to second Crenshaw's sentiment.

The guy with such a hair-trigger temper, his peers dubbed him ``Volcano''? He's nearly dormant.

The golfer who has battled back from a series of freak injuries that threatened to derail his career remains a fierce competitor. He just no longer is dogged to the point of destructiveness.

It's not just correct that Pate is on the Ryder Cup team, it's good karma.

In 1991, Pate was thrilled to be selected for the matches in Kiawah Island, S.C. On the eve of the first day of competition, the limousine Pate was riding in was involved in a three-car pileup.

Pate was the only U.S. player injured. He suffered a deep bruise in his left abdominal muscles and was only able to play one match. Long after the pain disappeared, the disappointment lingered. Pate never was sure he'd play again in golf's most esteemed team event.

For the very reason he never took his inclusion in the Ryder Cup for granted, Pate earned his way back.