Casey was widely considered a shoe-in for one of the two wild cards afforded to Europe's captain. But that bear of a man Clarke has come out of a long and silent hibernation. Casey will wish he had stayed in his hole.

The favourites for those two spots now are Clarke and Ian Poulter, despite the latter's decision to play in the US, a decision that may give Faldo a defence, weak as it may be, should he have to explain why Poulter was omitted.

His argument for leaving out Casey has distinctly more weight; while Poulter has delivered at the big events this season, Casey has been largely absent.

It won't help, either, that when he did work his way into contention at the Masters this year, he comprehensively bottled it.

But as occasional as Casey's form has been this year, and in spite of his comparatively poor results, he will still be permitted to feel aggrieved should Clarke muscle is way past him into the team.

For if Casey has been half asleep thus far in 2008, Clarke has been comatose. He woke up just in time to remind us just how good he can be when he wants to, but is that really enough to steal a spot from one of Europe's most consistent players over the past five years.

If Faldo was a magnanimous man, he might figure that including Casey with Poulter would make more sense in the long run. Those players would benefit immensely from another Ryder Cup's worth of experience in Cups to come.

Fortunately for Clarke, Faldo is anything but magnanimous. The Ulsterman is luckier, still, that Faldo remembers Clarke the team mate; he knows how influential Clarke can be.

Unfair as it may seem, all roads lead to Clarke and Poulter.

Faldo could do worse, but could he not perhaps also do better?