GLENEAGLES, Scotland (PA) -- Ian Poulter must have been thanking his lucky stars tonight after Nick Faldo handed him a Ryder Cup wild card.

Poulter and fellow Englishman Paul Casey were named as the pair to complete Faldo's 12-man team.

In a hugely controversial decision that means Darren Clarke, a winner a week ago, and Colin Montgomerie cannot extend their inspirational Ryder Cup careers next month, Poulter has not paid a price for putting his PGA Tour career before trying to qualify for the European side.

Instead, Faldo has given the British Open runner-up -- that was his first top-10 finish since January and he has not had one since -- the chance to show that his Birkdale heroics were not a one-off this year.

Casey was a much more obvious selection following four top-10 finishes in his last seven tournaments. He won a Ryder Cup match with a hole-in-one at the K Club two years ago and is a former World Match Play champion.

Clarke and Montgomerie said all the right things in the statements that followed their omissions, but it would be perfectly understandable if they were seething inside.

In a PA Sport poll of 32 European Tour players at Gleneagles this week, only one said he would give Poulter a wild card.

There was resentment about his decision to stay away from the final qualifying event -- third place would have made him an automatic pick and freed up Faldo to probably name the in-form Clarke -- and there were many who said they simply did not rate him as highly as Clarke.

The Ulsterman has fought back from 258th in the world following the loss of his wife to cancer just before the last match, to his current ranking just outside the top 50. He was also the inspiration of the 2006 team in Ireland, producing a stunning three wins out of three amid such emotional scenes.

Montgomerie, meanwhile, has been a talisman of the side for a decade, never losing a singles match in all his eight appearances.

The decision by Faldo means there are no Scots in the team for the first time since 1937 and Montgomerie, if he never plays Ryder Cup golf again, will end up two points shy of the event's record points-scorer: Faldo himself.

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