Sports

Why Rick Pitino will pay extra-close attention to this year’s PGA

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The last time there was a global golf event at Valhalla, where the 96th PGA Championship is being played this week, Rick Pitino had a major hand in it.

Pitino, the University of Louisville basketball coach since 2001 and the University of Kentucky coach from 1989 to 1997, is as a big a basketball figure is there is in these parts. He also loves his golf and has been a member of Valhalla since the 1990s.

At the 2008 Ryder Cup, Pitino took his leadership to another level when US Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger invited him to speak to the team.

“I spoke to the team the night before they started,’’ Pitino told The Post Monday night. “It was a lot of fun. It was a nice group of guys with a lot of young guys that were really fired-up.’’

Pitino’s message?

“I just told them: ‘Enjoy the experience since, for a change, you will be on a team and not playing with that singular pressure on yourself every hole, and that a team event is more enjoyable than anything, because you’re rooting for your teammates, not just concentrating on yourself,’ ’’ he said. “I told them, ‘You’ll really enjoy the team experience.’ ’’

The Americans did, going on to beat the Europeans 16 ½ to 11 1/2 in what stands as the only US victory in the biannual competition since 1999.

It’s impossible to measure how much Pitino had to do with that victory, but as an avid golfer with a 13 handicap he enjoyed the experience.

Pitino, who said he plans to attend the third round Saturday in between hosting recruits, has a special affinity for Valhalla and believes it will be one of the stars of the show this week.

Phil Mickelson practices on the 18th hole at Valhalla.AP

He said he plays Valhalla six or seven times a year, including hosting his own charity event there every September. It’s called the Daniel Pitino Classic, named for his son who died of congenital heart failure at six months old in 1987.

“The unique thing about the course is it is two totally separate nines,’’ Pitino said. “There is not a whole lot in common with the front, which is wide open, and the back, which is tree-lined.’’

One of Pitino’s favorite elements to the course is No. 18, which is a 542-yard par-5 that is very reachable in two for the pros.

“I originally thought they would make it a par-4 for the pros, but they want guys going for eagles and birdies to make it more exciting,’’ he said. “They want the short par-5 18th to set up dramatic finishes. They want it to where you can get an eagle and upset the field or be one or two behind and catch up. It’s going to add great suspense to this tournament.”

Pitino’s pick this week?

“I don’t see how you can argue with the guys who are at the top of their games right now the way Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler are,’’ Pitino said. “I’d like to see Garcia win, because he’s playing so well.’’