RYDER CUP 2008:HE'S HIS own man. Always has been, always will be. Yesterday, in announcing his two "wild card" picks to finalise his team for the defence of the Ryder Cup against the United States, Nick Faldo signalled a changing of the guard within the team locker-room by shutting the door on two players - Darren Clarke and Colin Montgomerie - who have contributed immensely to Europe's transformation from perennial losers to dominant force.
In overlooking the justifiable claims of Clarke and the not-so-justifiable ones of Monty - who has been an ever-present since 1991 - for a captain's pick, Faldo's decision to go with Englishmen Ian Poulter and Paul Casey, two players without a win on tour all season, simply confirmed the view that the six-time major champion and all-time Ryder Cup record points holder dances to no one's tune but his own.
In effect, Faldo went down the world rankings and selected the top two players - Poulter 23rd and Casey 35th - who failed to qualify automatically for the team, ignoring the late claims of Clarke, in particular, who secured his second win of the season when capturing the Dutch Open a fortnight ago.
That qualifying process finished at Gleneagles yesterday after the Johnnie Walker Championship but the fact neither Casey nor, more controversially, Poulter actually played in the tournament raised questions as to whether Faldo had given a nod in advance.
Yesterday, Faldo categorically denied that had happened.
Casey and Poulter join join Pádraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, Robert Karlsson, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Graeme McDowell, Justin Rose, Soren Hansen and Oliver Wilson, who all automatically qualified for the event at Valhalla in Kentucky from September 19th to 21st.
Clarke, a wild-card pick at The K Club two years ago, when he won three matches out of three, got a phone call from Faldo after he finished his round at Gleneagles with the news he would not be making the team flight from London to Louisville.
"I simply wished him all the best," said Clarke, in a statement. "Obviously, I am disappointed that I wasn't selected but I have dealt with much worse and it will make me more determined to make the team that will play in Wales (in 2010)."
While Clarke at least got to speak with Faldo, Montgomerie - who has been the inspiration behind Europe's metamorphosis in the competition over the past decade - had to make do with a voice message on his phone.
"I think he was watching football or shopping this afternoon," was the attempted joke from Faldo in outlining why he had failed to talk in person with the Scot, a player just two points shy of Faldo's all-time Ryder Cup record.
Faldo also confirmed that Jose Maria Olazabal would be his sole vice-captain and that there would be no return call to Paul McGinley, who declined an initial invitation to fill a similar role so he could attempt (unsuccessfully, as it turned out) to win a place on the team as a player.
Poulter, whose best performance this season was as runner-up to Harrington in the British Open at Royal Birkdale in July, has had only two top-10 finishes all year and admitted last night he felt his decision to stay in America for the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston (where he missed the cut) rather than return for the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, when a top-three finish would have given him an automatic place on the team, was the wrong one.
"It was such a tough decision for me to make and, looking back, maybe I should have gone to Gleneagles . . . I'm absolutely overwhelmed (to get a pick)," said Poulter.
"I think I will bring my best golf game (to the Ryder Cup). I will bring excitement. I will bring flair. And I will bring the passion that I always play golf with. I think that I will be a strong asset to the team."
Poulter's only previous Ryder Cup experience came at Oakland Hills in 2004, where he emerged with a record of one point (one win, one defeat) as Europe claimed a record 18½-9½ winning margin.
"Ian's put himself through the wringer and the most important thing is he's there," said Faldo, after giving Poulter the nod.
"Ian's a very determined guy and I love his attitude . . . and I've been watching (Paul) Casey and, tee-to-green, he's been playing the best through the summer and in the majors. I've been waiting for his putting to turn around and, the last few weeks, it's (got) close."
Casey was a member of the winning teams in 2004 and 2006, and has an impressive Ryder Cup record of three wins, two halved matches and one loss in his six matches.
"I feel very good about these two picks," insisted Faldo.
"I've got to make the call (on wild cards). What I saw through the majors has been very important to me.
"The Ryder Cup is a major, it really is. It is taking it to another level. Fourteen-and-a-half (points) will do me very nicely.
"Obviously we've been on an extraordinary run for these last few years, but winning is the most important thing to me. Points are really not important."
The United States captain Paul Azinger is due to name his four wild-card selections in New York tomorrow.
