Ian Poulter doesn’t care if he’s annoyed the Americans in beating them in five of the six Ryder Cups he’s played, and will be happy to keep right on getting under their skin.
Poulter scored four points for the team in his only loss, in 2008 at Valhalla, and it was “pretty depressing. You’d rather go 0-4 and win. If that played itself out this week, I’d be quite happy on Sunday night”.
But in all other five wins he’s been a visible and vocal force for Europe, and a lightning rod for American annoyance.
"I'm sure I've annoyed plenty."
No apologies from @IanJamesPoulter for winning matches 👊#TeamEurope #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/qtt5pdtlbd
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 22, 2021
“I’m sure I’ve annoyed plenty,” he said at Whistling Straits. “I mean, my percentage has been really nice, for me, and not for the guys I’ve played against. So I’m sure that’s been pretty frustrating to be on the receiving end of that.
“It feels nice. I enjoy holing putts and winning matches. It’s been a great ride. I’m never going to apologize for it. It’s how match play should be played.”
He isn’t the sort to deeply analyse exactly why he’s had such success in this event, but he has an idea.
“It’s just a very simple form of golf – you never play what-ifs. You don’t ever look at options or say, here’s the right place to miss, here’s the wrong place to miss. It’s single-minded focus on your target.
“Obviously the more simple it is, the easier it is for my brain to understand!
“Here you can’t expect a par to win a hole. You have to expect to try and birdie every single hole to have a chance of winning or even halving the hole.
“It’s a nice way to play golf to be so aggressive to targets.”
‘They have been brilliant so far’
Go Pack Go 🏈
Our Loro Piana uniform today is inspired by the @packers!#TeamEurope #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/z64tbXMwKE
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 22, 2021
The European team were currying favour dressed in Green Bay Packers yellow and green yesterday for the local NFL team. But Poulter knows he’s going to get some from the US crowd this week.
“It’s a great buzz,” he said. “You only have to look around and all the grandstands are red. The fans, 98 percent are obviously going to be for the US this week.
“They have been brilliant so far. They’re wishing me well. Not too well! That hasn’t always been the case, but so far so good.
“It’s not easy to play away from home. As much as we feel comfortable as a team, to know we’re underdogs, to know that, we have to play extra special this week to get the job done. It feels pretty rewarding at the end of the week if we can get it done.”
‘You know it’s coming’
These views never get old 😍 pic.twitter.com/uNjJH9rw7Z
— Ryder Cup USA (@RyderCupUSA) September 22, 2021
As for the nerves, they’re good ones, and they start the minute he wakes on Friday.
“The nerves hit when the alarm goes in the morning,” he said. “You know it’s coming. It’s been building all week.
“It’s a big (first) tee box. I don’t know how many thousand fans we got round there this week. It’s probably a little less than it was in Paris, but nevertheless it’s a loud environment.
“But, it’s great fun. From the moment you walk out the tunnel to getting that tee peg and attempting to put the ball on the tee, it’s a pretty fun ride.”