Nick Westby: Big five in danger of missing out from Clarke’s Hazeltine line-up

Instead, one and maybe two golfers from Sheffield will make the team with Danny Willett in the form of his life and Matt Fitzpatrick sure to be named the European Tour’s rookie of the year and kick-on from that next term.

It is a bold statement, but hear me out. And just to clarify, I’m not saying the big five do not have a chance of making the team, because long-time allegiances could easily come into play when Clarke sits down on the week commencing August 29, 2016, and names his three wild card selections.

But as it stands at the exact mid-point in the Ryder Cup cycle, these five pillars of the continent’s success this millennium are going to need a helping hand or a significant upturn in fortunes, if they are to force their way onto the team and not herald the end of a dominant generation for European golf.

That is because the nine men who will qualify for Clarke’s team come from the top four players on the European points list – the race for which began at the Russian Open earlier this month – followed by the next five highest players on the world points list.

None of the big five play frequently in Europe or are a factor in enough majors to earn the requisite points to dislodge players who ply their trade primarily on the continental list.

And on top of that, qualifying as part of the next five that come from the world list will also be difficult, with enough Europeans playing in America now showing better form over longer periods than our aging stalwarts.

So here for the record – and because I like to look back in a year’s time and see how many I got right and wrong –is my nine qualifiers for Clarke’s Ryder Cup team for the 2016 match at Hazeltine.

Danny Willett: A little bias here but barring a major win from a European next year, the 27-year-old from Sheffield has the potential to be the first man to qualify via the European points list. Currently second on the Tour’s Race to Dubai standings, Willett has shot to prominence in 2015, winning in South Africa and Switzerland as well as contending deep in the WGC match play and the Open. His Ryder Cup debut is only a matter of time.

Joost Luiten: The Dutchman was my outside bet two years ago and gave a good run at it before ultimately falling short, though his victory at the Wales Open a week before the Ryder Cup only emphasised his form. Has kicked on this year and can do so again in 2016 because of the doors he has opened for himself.

Bernd Wiesberger: Ok, another rookie, but bear in mind this is the European list which the selectors favour. The big-hitting Austrian, like Luiten and Willett, has shown great consistency over the last two seasons and is already up to 30th in the world. Knows how to win as he showed in France this summer.

Matt Fitzpatrick: Now maybe my Yorkshire bias has got the better of me, but think of the dramatic rise ‘Across the Pond’ of Jordan Spieth. He made his Ryder Cup debut at Gleneagles in only his second year on tour. Fitzpatrick has already shown his match play credentials with his historic win in the 2013 US Amateur, and after a steady start to his maiden season as a professional has recorded four top-three finishes since June. The 21-year-old is due a win and, with it, serious progression.

Rory McIlroy: Onto the world’s points list and Europe No 1. McIlroy will lead the team... if he can stay away from playing football with his mates.

Justin Rose: A great stat from this year which illustrates Rose’s consistency and the standard in the top events is that the Englishman finished 28 under par in two of the majors (Masters and PGA) and lost by 10 shots. Rose has become a true star of the world game.

Henrik Stenson: Topped the European and PGA Tour rankings in 2013 and has not relented since. Only missing a major from his impressive cv.

Martin Kaymer: Twice a major winner and the man who sunk the winning putt at Medinah. Like the three above him, a mainstay of Team Europe.

Paul Casey: Five years ago the world No 8 was controversially overlooked as a wild card but over the last 18 months has enjoyed a renaissance, winning in Holland and contending frequently on the PGA Tour. Has to keep that form up Stateside though if he is to qualify, as he no longer has a European Tour card.

So they are the nine I’m backing. Others who could come into form and into the mix are Chris Wood and Tommy Fleetwood, plus victorious debutants of 2014 Jamie Donaldson and Victor Dubuisson.

The big five have it all to do if Hazeltine is not to be the stage for a significant changing of the guard in European Ryder Cup history.