Darren Clarke's emphatic victory in the KLM Open in the Netherlands on Sunday has increased the selection difficulties of Nick Faldo, Europe's Ryder Cup captain, in advance of the battle with the United States in Valhalla, Kentucky, next month.
It is a headache that Faldo will not mind, though, as he considers the options he has regarding his own two choices to complete the team of 12 after the 10 qualifying places are confirmed during this week's Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in Scotland. As things stand, Clarke is effectively in direct opposition with another of the European stalwarts in golf's most prestigious knockout competition - Colin Montgomerie, the burly Scot who has proved such an inspiration in previous clashes between the two fierce rivals.
Faldo is believed to have promised one of his wild cards to England's Paul Casey, who is short on European qualifying points because of his commitments in the US. Casey finished seventh in last weekend's Barclays tournament won in a play-off by the Fijian Vijay Singh against Spain's Sergio Garcia, who is guaranteed his Valhalla selection in second place behind Padraig Harrington, the Open and US PGA champion.
Opting for Clarke would mean discarding Montgomerie, the marauding 'general' of the team and an ever-present since 1989 - a man who invariably produces his best form in this biennial grudge match. Not that Clarke has been a shrinking violet when facing the Stars and Stripes. The Irishman was a significant contributor to Europe's last three victories, winning his singles rubber in all three. He demonstrated a remarkable strength of character two years ago as he excelled to win all three of his matches at Dublin's K Club while mourning the death of his wife Heather.
Clarke was 40 this month and is desperate to be given a late present by Faldo to go with his handsome cheque of ?30,000 (Dh162,230) for winning on Sunday night. "I had two weeks to try to impress Nick," said the genial Irishman. "The first is out of the way and I seem to have done that. I don't know if I have done enough, but I'm going to Gleneagles in better shape and hopefully he will take notice."
The manner of Clarke's victory deserves to tip the wild card verdict in his favour because he prevailed comfortably and calmly after suffering the anguish of squandering a three-stroke lead to Henrik Stenson, the Dubai-based Swede who is another automatic selection, in the final round at Zandvoort. Clarke's Dutch delight contrasted with the despair of Justin Rose, who was looking for a higher finish than the 34th he managed to clinch his selection. The young Englishman will now play safe by competing for points at Gleneagles rather than seeking to hit the financial jackpot in the US$5m (Dh18.4m) Fed-Ex play-offs on the other side of the Atlantic.
Rose lies eighth on the list of qualifiers but is acutely aware that six fellow professionals are close enough behind him to deny him at the final hurdle. "It's Plan B to go to Gleneagles," said Rose. "It was not on my schedule to play these two weeks in Europe - but I came to do a job. I didn't do it this week, so I'll do it next week." Those in a position to overtake Rose are Soren Hansen (Denmark), Oliver Wilson (England), Martin Kaymer (Germany) and three other Englishmen - Ian Poulter, Ross Fisher and Nick Dougherty.
Hansen and Wilson are in the team at the moment but know they have to prove themselves to the watching Faldo at Gleneagles to ensure that they accompany Harrington, Garcia, Lee Westwood, Stenson, Robert Karlsson, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Graeme McDowell on the flight to Kentucky. There may yet been a late twist to this intriguing tale, however. Karlsson, the solid Swede who has secured fifth position in the standings, has been told not to practise for the next couple of weeks to avoid aggravating a neck problem. That makes him an obvious injury doubt, a situation confirmed by his manager Johan Elliot. wjohnson@thenational.ae
