There is a bit of a rumble growing that with his victory at last weekend’s KLM Open at Kennemer, Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke may well have played his way onto Nick Faldo’s European Ryder Cup team – and, I believe, rightly so.  The likeable Clarke, who closed with rounds of 64-66-66 over the venerable Dutch layout, has certainly been through it, enduring the death of his wife in 2006, then struggling to a 138th-place finish in the E Tour Order of Merit during a disappointing 2007.  But in 2008 Clarke has returned to his elite form of the past, logging early top-four finishes at the South African and Joburg Opens before breaking through for a win at the BMW Asian Open in April.  A tie for 6th at August’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitation slipped him back onto the international stage, and while an MC at the PGA Championship slowed the momentum, it was recaptured quickly enough in the Netherlands, where Clarke easily cruised past Paul McGinley by four.  Currently standing 17th on both the European Ryder Cup world and E Tour points lists, Clarke will not play his way into an automatic berth on the team with anything shy of a miracle.  However, with five past Ryder Cup appearances and a career Cup record of 10-7-3, it would seem difficult for Faldo not to select so proven a performer.  And given the magnitude of Clarke’s personal tragedy and comeback, it will be a very well-deserved selection indeed.
 
Meanwhile, I ran into an exceptionally well-placed source this weekend who indicated real optimism that Rocco Mediate will, in fact, be one of Paul Azinger’s four upcoming captain’s picks for the American team.  The popular Mediate, whose MC at the Barclay's broke a streak of 13 consecutive cuts made, may be slightly past his peak form of late spring, but were I Azinger I’d pick him instantly – and not just because the two are close friends.  On a U.S. team that may struggle mightily to find players capable of producing under the stifling Ryder Cup pressure, Mediate, whose game settled in at a new level after taking Tiger Wood’s to the limit at June’s U.S. Open, would appear an ideal prospect.  It seems odd that both he and fellow veteran Steve Stricker would be Ryder Cup rookies if tabbed by Azinger, as each has logged volumes worth of good golf over the years.  But inexperienced in this particular event or not, I’d sooner bet on either of them to come through at Valhalla than any of Azinger’s other obvious choices.  Indeed, I’d be inclined to pencil them onto Zinger’s dance card right now, leaving Zach Johnson Sean O’Hair, Hunter Mahan, Brandt Snedeker and several others to sweat over roster spots 11 and 12.  But we’ll see…