Surprise at Clarke snub

Clarke: Surprise snub

All of his team mates and actually our guys respect him. He's great behind the scenes, a good team guy, so I think I'm a little surprised Darren (Clarke) wasn't a pick.

Jim Furyk
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Sergio Garcia expressed his surprise that Darren Clarke will not be his team-mate at the Ryder Cup, while American Jim Furyk is also shocked he will not be lining up against the Northern Irishman in Valhalla.

Captain Nick Faldo picked Paul Casey and Ian Poulter as his wildcards for the tournament, with Clarke and Ryder Cup veteran Colin Montgomerie missing out.

Spanish star Garcia admits that he thought 2006 hero Clarke, who won three points out of three on an emotional return after the death of his wife, would have made it into the team after his victory in Holland last week.

"I thought Paul (Casey) was pretty much a lock (for a captain's pick) and because of the way Darren has been playing lately, I thought maybe he would get the other one," said Garcia.

The absence of Montgomerie is not such a surprise though as, despite having 23.5 Ryder Cup points to his name over the years, he has not been playing well enough this year.

"Monty has done so well at the Ryder Cup, but unfortunately he just hasn't been playing that great lately," added Garcia.

Gamble

"Even though it's Monty, it's a huge risk to pick a guy who hasn't been playing his best and hope he plays his best at the Ryder Cup.

"If it goes that way, he's a hero; if he plays badly, then everybody will kill him, so I think he (Faldo) just went with what he felt was probably the best for the team, and we all respect that.

"Casey and Poulter are going to be good assets for the team. I think we're all looking forward to it and all happy that both Ian and Paul are on the team."

Like Clarke, American Jim Furyk has played in the last five Ryder Cups and he has already qualified for a sixth cap and will not need one of Paul Azinger's four captain's picks in their new revamped system.

Furyk was also surprised that Clarke did not make Faldo's team after his previous performances in the competition.

"I think everyone kind of felt like Darren was going to get the nod," Furyk said.

Respect

"All of his team mates and actually our guys respect him. He's a good friend of a bunch of guys over here and I know the guys on their team love him.

"He's great behind the scenes, a good team guy, so I think I'm a little surprised Darren wasn't a pick.

"From a personal perspective, Darren is a friend and I feel badly for him that he's not there.

"He's a great guy and a team member but Ian and Paul are both good players and good match play players."

Furyk did add though that both Casey and Poulter will be tough men to play against for the Americans, who will finalise their team with Azinger's four picks revealed on Tuesday.

"They both whipped me, Paul in the last round of the last (Ryder) Cup and Ian beat me in the WGC event (the Accenture Match Play Championship)," Furyk added.

"I think they're two solid picks."

The Ryder Cup runs from September 19-21 and is exclusively live on Sky Sports.