U.S. captain Azinger switches Ryder Cup playing format

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger has switched the playing format for the opening session of this year's matches in Louisville, Kentucky, from fourballs to foursomes.

Former major winner Azinger, a veteran of four Ryder Cups as a player, hopes the ploy will help the Americans end a run of three successive defeats by Europe.

The biennial team competition has not started with morning foursomes (or alternate-shot) encounters since Brookline in 1999, when the United States last tasted victory.

"I've decided to change that back," Azinger told reporters on Wednesday during preparation for this week's Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Arizona.

"I hope it's the right decision. We're switching, we're going back to alternate shot in the morning and we'll just see how it plays out.

"I felt like the Americans had an edge in alternate shot and I think it's partly responsible for why Europe (in recent years) has gotten off to a pretty hot start.

"I believe it was in 1997 when Seve (Ballesteros) changed it to best ball (fourballs) in the morning and alternate shot in the afternoon."

Azinger was correct in his assessment. Spaniard Ballesteros, Europe's captain at Valderrama in 1997, ended a run of eight successive Ryder Cup matches with a foursomes format in the morning followed by fourballs in the afternoon.

SIGNIFICANT CHANGE

Azinger, 48, who won the 1993 PGA Championship at Inverness, had already made one other significant change in the American approach to the Ryder Cup.

After being named U.S. captain in November 2006, he announced a revamped selection process aimed at giving him the hottest players for the September 19-21 matches at Valhalla Golf Club.

He will get four captain's picks instead of two for this year's encounter with eight automatic berths on his 12-man team tied to money earned in events leading up to the Cup.

"We made the change in the selection process, and I really believe that's going to help us," Azinger said.

"I think that Europe has had a better selection process. It's partly the reason why they've played so much better than us the last few Ryder Cups.

"They've won five of the last six Ryder Cups and I'm hoping that the selection process we put in place is going to get the best American players on this team."

Azinger will face a tough task as U.S. captain after Tom Lehman's team crashed to a record-equaling defeat by 18-1/2 points to 9-1/2 at the K Club in Ireland in 2006.

The Americans, who have lost the last three matches, have not won since a come-from-behind victory at Brookline in 1999. Their last success before that was in 1993.

(Editing by John Mehaffey)