Azinger insists Ryder Cup not empty just yet for Austin

Camilo Villegas (72 -146) jumps to get a view of the green before hitting his ball out of a fairway bunker on No. 12. (Carlos Osorio/Associated Press)

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Woody Austin insists he played his way out of the Ryder Cup picture. Paul Azinger said he shouldn't be so sure.

"I think Woody put his heart and soul into trying to make the team," said the United States captain, "but I'm going to make a call to make sure he knows it's not over for him."

Certainly, this wasn't a case of deja vu for Austin, who used a second-place finish in the 2007 PGA Championship to roar onto the Presidents Cup team.

Sitting ninth in the Ryder Cup standings and knowing the top eight are automatic picks, Austin, in yesterday's second round at Oakland Hills Country Club, shot his second consecutive 79 and never gave himself a chance. Meanwhile, those sitting seventh (Boo Weekley, 71 -143) and eighth (Steve Stricker, 75 -146) made the cut to help their chances, but so, too, did those in 11th (D.J. Trahan, 71 -143), 12th (Rocco Mediate, 74 -147), 13th (Sean O'Hair, 73 -142), (Brandt Snedeker, 71 - 142), and 16th (J.B. Holmes, 68 -139, the leader).

Zach Johnson, who is 14th in the standings, bogeyed the final hole to shoot 73 -149 and miss the cut by one. So, too, did No. 10 Hunter Mahan (79 -160) miss badly, and given the controversy he stirred with disparaging remarks about the Ryder Cup, it doesn't figure he has a chance at being a captain's pick.

The top eight picks will be solidified after tomorrow's final round. Players will then have three weeks to virtually audition for Azinger, who will announce his four picks the Tuesday after the Deutsche Bank Championship, Sept. 2 in New York.

Different story
No, we're not in Reno anymore. At least that was the message that came across loud and clear to Parker McLachlin in Thursday's opening round. In storming to his first PGA Tour win at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open a week ago, McLachlin made a whopping 22 birdies and one eagle. But he was one of five players who went 36 holes without a birdie here. The others were Soren Hansen, Greg Kraft, and club pros David Long and Sonny Skinner . . . There were 19 players who went without a birdie in Round 1, including Adam Scott (77), Lee Westwood (77), Bubba Watson (75), and K.J. Choi (78). Scott stretched his birdieless skid to 32 holes before he made one, but it was too little, too late as he shot 73 -150 and missed the cut in this championship for the first time since he did so in his debut in 2001. Watson also went 32 holes without a birdie until he made his only one in two days, though at 73 -148 he made the cut on the number . . . When the cut landed at 8 over, it meant that 73 players had made it into weekend play, but some notable names were not among them, including John Daly (75 -149), who has missed the cut in 11 of 17 of these championships. Also missing the cut were Choi, Fred Couples, Rich Beem, Nick O'Hern, Darren Clarke, Stewart Cink, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Stephen Ames, Chad Campbell, Davis Love, Scott Verplank, Westwood, and Vijay Singh, who has missed out on weekend play in consecutive major championships for the first time since 1994-95. Cink has missed two straight cuts in the majors for the first time in his career . . . Eleven players can say they made the cut in all four majors this season - Padraig Harrington, Robert Karlsson, Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen, Andres Romero, Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Jim Furyk, Mike Weir, Justin Leonard, and Paul Casey.

Of spike marks...
Jay Haas, 54, was the only player in the field with Oakland Hills experience dating to the 1979 US Open. He finished joint 15th that year and followed with appearances here at the 1985 US Open (T-15), 1996 US Open (T-90), and even the 2004 Ryder Cup. His golf duties are Champions Tour-related these days, but after contemplating whether to play here, Haas finally accepted his spot for being the reigning Senior PGA champion. The difference between the PGA Tour and Champions Tour? "Spike marks and accents," he said with a laugh. Virtually all the players on the Champions Tour wear soft spikes, while PGA Tour members still prefer metal . . . It's not the first time there's been just one player under par through 36 holes at the PGA Championship. It also happened in 1972, here at Oakland Hills, not to mention 1960 and 1966 when the PGA was held at Firestone CC in Akron, Ohio. But the yardstick for toughness remains Southern Hills in 1970, when the 36-hole leaders were Dave Stockton and Larry Hinson, at even par . . . Only six times since 1980 has the first-round leader gone on to win the PGA, though it has been done twice in recent years - by Mickelson in 2005 and Tiger Woods in 2000.

Shot of the day
Given that he double bogeyed the par-4 16th to miss the cut by two, Daniel Chopra's theatrics at the par-4 15th didn't mean as much, but still, it was quite a creative shot. With his approach coming to rest against a bunker, his only option if he wanted to hit it righthanded was to stand in the sand, but the ball would be well above his feet. So he stood on the lefthand side, turned an iron around, and slapped at it backhanded. He pulled it off, too, because the ball scooted onto the green, and Chopra made the 6-footer to save par.