Aug 28, 2008 - 6:17 AM
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NORTON, Massachusetts (Ticker) - Paul Casey does not accept Nick Dougherty's claim that Nick Faldo must have promised Ian Poulter a place on Europe's Ryder Cup team.
Casey said he has "no clue" who captain Faldo is likely to choose as his two wild-card picks, and nor does he think Poulter has any idea which way the captain is leaning to round out the squad that will take on the U.S. at Valhalla next month.
Poulter made a late decision to pull out of this week's Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles - his final chance to make the team automatically - to instead play in the United States at the PGA Tour's Deutsche Bank Championship.
That decision prompted Dougherty, speaking at Gleneagles, to say that he thought Faldo must have assured Poulter he would be on the Ryder Cup team.
"I've spoken to Ian and I don't buy that comment," said Casey, who himself is in the running for a captain's pick.
"I've heard nothing from Nick. I have not been given any indication which direction he's going with his picks. I have no clue what he's doing to do."
Casey, who also decided to stay in the United States rather than fly back to Europe for the final qualifying event, defended Poulter's decision.
"It's a difficult situation, because if he was playing Gleneagles this week, he would basically give up his chance of winning the FedEx Cup," Casey continued. "He gives up his chance to win 10 million dollars and the possibility of playing for huge world ranking points.
"Having said that, Justin (Rose) has been over there cementing his place in the team. He's given up his chance of winning 10 million dollars, saying it's only money, you can't take it with you."
Casey and Poulter's hopes of both making the Ryder Cup team have been complicated by the return to form of Darren Clarke, who won the KLM Open on Sunday.
Not only does Clarke warrant consideration on his form alone, but he and Lee Westwood have formed a formidable Ryder Cup partnership in previous years, something Faldo must be aware of.
"It's great to see Darren playing well, on a personal level, and it's good from a Euro golf standpoint," continued Casey, taking the high road. "It's nice to have a difficult situation like this, because it means we've got lots of great players."
With Faldo scheduled to announce his two selections on Sunday, Casey and Poulter have only two rounds here to impress the captain, because the tournament does not start until Friday.
But Casey did not hurt his cause last week when he finished tied for seventh, just two strokes off the pace, at The Barclays.
He has been in very consistent form lately - four top-10s in his past six starts - and says his long-lost putting touch is finally coming around after holding him back for much of the year.
The Deutsche Bank is the second of four FedEx Cup PGA Tour playoff events. Due to the volatile nature of the standings, Casey last week vaulted from 90th to 38th in the standings.
The top 144 players were eligible to play last week, while this week's field has been trimmed to 120, with only 70 advancing to next week's event in St Louis.
Phil Mickelson, who will be counted on to lead the U.S. team at Valhalla, is the defending champion.
First prize is $1.26 million.
