U.S. captain Azinger finds escape from pressures

U.S. Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger and his wife Toni Azinger arrive on the red carpet at the 37th Ryder Cup Gala at the Kentucky Center in Louisville, Kentucky September 17, 2008.

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (Reuters) - the Ryder Cup, golfing for team and country or continent, can bring unique pressure and U.S. captain Paul Azinger has his own way of dealing with it.

Azinger said on Wednesday that after he arrived for the matchplay event starting on Friday, he ventured into the Kentucky countryside to indulge his hobby -- foosball (table football).

"I am a total foosball junkie," he said.

"When I got here on Saturday, I had a friend text message me that he was coming to the (Ryder) tournament and that there was a foosball party, an all-day foosball party on Saturday, and they were barbecuing and kegs of beer and the whole deal."

Azinger rang up the host of the get-together and after a late dinner, he drove out to join his fellow enthusiasts.

"It was 13 miles (21 km) out of town and I rolled into this, it was like a crack house for foosball players...There wasn't a stick of furniture in his house. There was people willy-nilly all over the place," Azinger said.

"It was a little bit like 'Silence of the Lambs' walking in the basement going down there to play foosball. There was 25 people in there ... it was really hot, had this eerie lighting, concrete block walls and here I roll in, here comes the captain, and I promise you, not five people knew who I was."

(Editing by Clare Lovell)