Ian Poulter and Paul Casey were on Saturday night confirmed as captain Nick Faldo's wild-card selections, despite Clarke - a Ryder Cup hero in 2006 - winning in Holland eight days ago.

Garcia said: "I thought Paul (Casey) was pretty much a lock (for a captain's pick) and because of the way Darren has been playing lately, I thought maybe he would get the other one."

Along with Padraig Harrington, Garcia will spearhead the team to take on the Americans in Kentucky.

As for Colin Montgomerie, Garcia recognised captain Nick Faldo would have been taking a huge risk with the out-of-form Scot, notwithstanding his stellar Ryder Cup record.

"Monty has done so well at the Ryder Cup, but unfortunately he just hasn't been playing that great lately," said Garcia.

"Even though it's Monty, it's a huge risk to pick a guy who hasn't been playing his best and hope he plays his best at the Ryder Cup.

"If it goes that way, he's a hero; if he plays badly, then everybody will kill him, so I think he (Faldo) just went with what he felt was probably the best for the team, and we all respect that.

"Casey and Poulter are going to be good assets for the team. I think we're all looking forward to it and all happy that both Ian and Paul are on the team."