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Paul Azinger talks during a press conference to announce the first eight players of the 12-member Ryder Cup team on August 11, 2008 at the Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan.

Azinger said he would continue the points list after the PGA Championship “so I can look at the top 12 guys and maybe make a choice just based on that.”

Good luck.

Of the top 25 who did not make the team, nine missed the cut at The Barclays and none finished among the top 18.

The one criteria that Azinger said might need changing for the next U.S. team is the majors, which offered double points in the current year. If any American had won the PGA Championship — including a club pro — he would have been eligible for the team.

The double points at majors — Azinger believes 1½ points would be better — enabled Curtis to make his first Ryder Cup team with his tie for second at the PGA Championship. That worked out well, for Curtis is playing as well as anyone. In his first tournament since Oakland Hills, he finished one shot out of the playoff at The Barclays.

Considering that the new points system identified the best players, was four picks really necessary?

“Maybe not,” Azinger said. “I don’t know. If you look down that list, I like the next four guys a lot.”

He likes a lot of players.

Whether they can help the United States win the Ryder Cup is another matter.

The Deutsche Bank Championship, which starts Friday on the TPC Boston, could go a long way toward firming up Azinger’s four picks. He will announce his selections next Tuesday in New York. One can only hope he doesn’t have to go the way of one writer, who left this message after giving his four names.

“It was more a case of settling on who I didn’t want than necessarily who I wanted. Good luck, Mr. Azinger.”