Nick Faldo's captains picks haven't been received too kindly in the golfing world. First, James Corrigan from The Independent:
Throughout his long and controversial career, Nick Faldo has made a habit of upsetting people and ploughing his own uncompromising route to success and as Ryder Cup captain he is evidently planning on doing so again after stunning the sporting world last night. In ignoring the seemingly irresistible claims of Darren Clarke and picking Ian Poulter alongside Paul Casey as his two wild cards, Faldo left himself exposed to criticism, from both inside and outside the team room.
Brian Hewitt of TGC flat out calls the selections shocking:
The omission of Darren Clarke from the European Ryder Cup team is nothing short of a shock...
Clarke’s larger-than-life presence on the European team for the last decade or so has been even more important than his strong 10-7-3 career record in Ryder Cup play. Moreover, he won twice on the European Tour this year including just two weeks ago in the Netherlands.
Clarke and England’s Lee Westwood have been a strong Ryder Cup pairing for the Euros. They are extremely close friends. And the fact of the matter right now is this: Anybody who has been playing close attention to the wonderful team chemistry the Euros have parlayed into smashing 9-point victories over the Americans in each of the last two Ryder Cups, has to be scratching his or her head at the failure of Faldo to name Clarke. Among other points that need to be made: Both Poulter and Casey missed the cut this week at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston.
