Ryder Cup: Paul Azinger was yesterday appointed captain of the United States team for the 2008 Ryder Cup match against Europe and began his tenure with the now-traditional swipe at critics who argue that the US team loses because they care less than their opponents.

"I think anyone who suggests that our players won't be as hungry as their players might be in for a big shock," he said during a press conference at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky, where the next match will be staged.

The former PGA champion and four-time Ryder Cup player, one of the more combative US team members of recent years, might succeed where Hal Sutton and Tom Lehman have spectacularly failed and motivate the likes of Phil Mickelson, one of the least combative US team members.

But the biggest shock of all would be if his team succeeded in breaking the losing streak: Europe have won five of the last six events.

In the conservative world of the PGA Tour Azinger is something of an iconoclast, a reputation he cemented yesterday. "Experience is way overrated . . . I'm hoping to get guys on the team that say 'dude'," he said, explaining that he wanted to include younger players like Bubba Watson, the longest-driving player on US Tour this year, and Ryan Moore, a former US amateur champion, who is seen as the most promising American golfer under the age of 30. "But they have got to play their way on to the team."

Azinger used his appointment to announce a radical overhaul of the selection process, including doubling the number of captain's picks from two to four.

The points system used to select the top eight players in the team will now put more emphasis on performances in the months running up to the 2008 event rather than being spread across a 15-month period beginning in 2007.

"I had a very active role in creating this (new system)," he said. "When they first asked me, I asked if they would consider allowing me four picks. And I really wanted a one-year system to ensure we had our hottest and best players. We are tired of getting beaten and I want players on the team who are red-hot, if I can get them."

Among the first to congratulate Azinger was his European counterpart, Nick Faldo, who became a friend when the two worked together for ABC Television.

"Nick sent me text saying 'What a shock'," Azinger said, adding that he and Faldo had patched up their differences long ago, although their friendship did not preclude a little psychological needling.

"Nick will do a good job, but I think he is in a little bit of a tough spot. After winning six of the last seven he has everything to lose. But it's not going to be Paul versus Nick. The responsibility is going to fall on the players and I want them to have an 'everything to gain, nothing to lose' attitude. For the first time on United States soil we are going to be the underdogs."

Faldo chose the diplomatic approach. "I feel that we have respect for each other both on and off the course," he said in a statement, "and I am certain that we will both enjoy the challenge of captaining our respective teams."

Azinger played on triumphant US teams in 1991 and 1993 and was unbeaten in singles matches, where his two victories came against Spanish heavyweights Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal.

"I think he's a great choice. He's feisty," US Ryder Cup veteran Jim Furyk said at the Tour Championship in Atlanta on Sunday.

"He brings a little bit of an attitude to a team that I think needs it right now."

Azinger won three of his 12 PGA Tour titles in 1993, a career-best year that ended on a bitter note for him when he was diagnosed with lymphoma in his right shoulder.

His fightback culminated in his most recent Tour victory at the 2000 Hawaiian Open.

The qualification process for the European team for 2008 match has yet to be decided.