Top 8 set for the Ryder Cup

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Paul Azinger revamped the Ryder Cup qualifying system to get the best players, and he had no complaints with the eight Americans who earned a spot on the team.

But not even four captain's picks to follow will change the way he sees this competition against Europe.

"We are going to take on an underdog role in this Ryder Cup for the first time in a long time — even on paper — when you look at the strength of the European squad," Azinger said Monday after the PGA Championship. "We are going to have everything to gain here."

That's mainly because the Americans have done nothing but lose.

Europe has won the last two times by record margins — 18 1/2-9 1/2 — and has captured the cup eight of the last 11 times. Tiger Woods is out for the year because of knee surgery, so Boo Weekley essentially takes his spot among the eight qualifiers. Weekley, who closed with a 66 in the PGA Championship to secure the eighth spot in the standings, is among three rookies on the U.S. team.

The five veterans include Justin Leonard, who made the team for the first time since 1999.

Europe is led by Padraig Harrington, who won his second straight major Sunday at Oakland Hills by going 66-66 over the final two rounds and taking only 11 putts over the last nine holes. Sergio Garcia, a runner-up in the majors for the third time, sewed up a spot on the team despite losing the lead in the PGA Championship over the last three holes.

None of the five Americans with Ryder Cup experience has a winning record, and they are a collective 18-34-15 in the matches, a product of losing so often.

"I've said all along that experience, while being very important ... I mean, we've lost five of the last six Ryder Cups, so most of their experiences are bad experiences. So it's not like experience is going to be a great help. I'm looking for guys that play well — it's as simple as that. And if it's an experienced player playing well, then I think that's fantastic."

The eight who qualified were Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Kenny Perry, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim, Leonard, Ben Curtis and Weekley.

Although he has never won a match, Leonard's last Ryder Cup memory was a winning one. He rallied from 4 down with seven holes to play against Spanish stalwart Jose Maria Olazabal when he holed a 45-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole at Brookline that capped an amazing American comeback in 1999. Leonard wound up with a halve, but it was the clinching point.