Underdog Euros have Yanks where they want ’em

By JIM LITKE
AP Sports Writer

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) — No team in sports embraces the underdog label like Europe’s Ryder Cup squads. Their players are usually a few rungs lower in the world rankings, boast fewer major championships and they’re often giving up serious yardage to the longer-hitting Americans. Yet somehow that formula has produced victories in seven of the nine Cup matches played this century, including a split of the four on U.S. soil. But U.S. captain Steve Stricker is betting that his young squad — with six rookies and without Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson for the first time since 1993 — can turn things around.