Graphic: Faldo's Europe team to take on the US

As the four men who were involved in the announcement of the Europe team settled before the television cameras at Gleneagles last night, the presence of one of them caused my spirits to rise. George O’Grady and Richard Hills, respectively the executive director of the European Tour and the man responsible for Ryder Cup matters, book-ended Nick Faldo, the captain, and José MarÍa Olazábal, the vice-captain, of the Europe team at Valhalla, Kentucky, in 18 days.

It was seeing the Spaniard that suddenly made me feel much better about the composition of the Europe team. Olazábal, 42, newly barbered, tanned and trim and fuller in the face than for some time, has been far from well for most of the season, but now he says that he is off the medication and feeling much better. Thank goodness for that. It would be inhuman to have wished for anything less of such a humane and engaging person as the Spaniard.

The sight of a man who has played in seven Ryder Cups, has won the Masters twice, who has common sense and dignity in equal measures, was reassuring to those of a European persuasion. With Olazábal fulfilling his duties as vice-captain of a Europe team there was less chance of any mistakes and the feeling is that this is a strong team that deserves the role of favourite.

Yet Faldo stands accused by some of having made an error already in selecting Ian Poulter ahead of Darren Clarke and Carl Pettersson. Clarke, 40, has won two tournaments since mid-April, the more recent eight days ago. His partnership with Lee Westwood has yielded an enormous dividend for Europe. Clarke and Westwood have beaten the world No 1 and No 2 in three of the recent Ryder Cups - Woods and Duval in the four-balls at Brookline in 1999, Woods and Mickelson in the foursomes at Oakland Hills in 2004 and Woods and Furyk in the four-balls in 2006. To discard such a potent partnership seems to be brave at the very least.

Upon hearing that Clarke had not been selected, Paul Azinger may have let out a sigh of relief. “I thought he was a lock,” the US captain said.

It was pointed out to Faldo that Poulter had recorded only one round of 68 or better on either side of the Atlantic all year, that he had chosen to compete in the US these past two weeks when many fellow professionals in Europe felt he should have been playing on their continent.

Poulter enjoys a laddish relationship with Faldo, two men of Hertfordshire, where hurricanes happen and around whom one was building last night. Faldo’s reasoning for Poulter’s inclusion is resolute, even though it could be said to be flawed. Again and again he cited Poulter’s attitude, calling it “tremendous”. He emphasised how Poulter was the highest-ranked player in the world who was not in the team. He cited Poulter’s homeward nine holes on the Sunday of the Open Championship, a performance that Faldo thought might have brought Poulter victory. And he lauded Poulter’s braveness in holing a 15-foot putt to finish second.

Poulter was returning home to Britain from the US last night, feeling elated and humbled. His inclusion has been controversial, but at least it is not because he and Montgomerie, who had been slagging one another off last week, were in the same team. Had that happened then someone as saintly as Mother Teresa might not have been able to smooth over their recent past. As it was, Montgomerie hardly featured in Faldo’s thinking.

Poulter’s inclusion is not the only talking point. Pettersson’s exclusion deserves to be examined closely, too. In one way it is a sign of the strength of Europe’s professional golfers that a Swede, who has won three tournaments in the US in the past four years, can be excluded. Yet there is an unpleasant whiff of xenophobia about it. If Pettersson were British, he would be a nailed-down certainty to be included.

This is Faldo’s team. That can be said without fear of contradiction. It is one that he intends to mould in his own image more than any other Ryder Cup captain in recent memory, more than Tony Jacklin, who wrote the book on captaining Europe with his successes in the 1980s, more than Severiano Ballesteros, who seemed to be Captain Madcap at Valderrama in 1997, and more than Captain Cool, Bernhard Langer, in 2004 and Ian Woosnam two years ago.

Faldo has always done things his own way, never allowing sentiment to cloud his judgment and has announced himself as Captain Control.

Mindful that in May last year he had invited Paul McGinley to become a vice-captain of the team, an invitation that the Irishman accepted at the time and then declined a few months later, saying he wanted to play himself on to the team, Faldo was asked whether he would invite McGinley to help with the team once again. The answer was crisp and curt: no. Faldo said he wanted it to be his and Olazábal’s show and their show alone.

There is a suspicion, however, that a role may yet be found for Thomas Björn. The Dane is recognised to have a sound voice as well as being the friend of many of the players and in the maelstrom that is Ryder Cup week such a person may prove to be a godsend.