Antalya, Turkey …
Super passionate European star Ian Poulter declared he would give his left arm to compete in next year’s Ryder Cup in Paris.
Poulter is a veteran of five Ryder Cups since making his debut in 2004 and enjoys a remarkable record of having won all but four of 18 matches while he is undefeated in he singles.
His Saturday afternoon four-ball performance in 2012 at Medinah in suburban Chicago lit the fuse for a remarkable come-from-behind one-point victory for Jose Maria Olazabal’s side to retain the trophy.
Poulter and Rory McIlroy were 2-down with six holes to play and with Poulter single-handedly birding the closing five holes.
Ian Poulter declaring he would give his left arm to play in the 2018 Ryder Cup.
Poulter competed in the 2014 winning side but a foot injury ruled the Florida-based Englishman out of Darren Clarke’s 2016 team though Clarke took him to Hazeltine as a vice-captain.
But now that Poulter is again fully fit and also bravely managed to retain full playing rights for the 2017/18 PGA Tour wraparound schedule, the now 41-year old is again excited at the thought of being a member of Thomas Bjorn’s side.
“I would give literally my left arm to play,” he said ahead of the second round in the Turkish Airlines Open.
“I mean, I want to be there, right. It’s a good golf course. I’ve had success around that course. I’d love to be there.”
Indeed, Poulter enjoys a good French Open record on the Ryder Cup host Le National layout on the outskirts of Versailles having finished third in both 2006 and 2009 while he was fourth in 2012.
But if Poulter is to qualify automatically he knows he has his work cut out given he is currently ranked 29th on the ‘World’ points list and with four to qualify from this list.
“I’m so far away at the minute, and the points are weighted, obviously, a little heavier second half of the season next year,” he said.
“There’s a lot of movement going to come next year but knowing that you’re playing these three, you know you can make a dent obviously into that.
“It’s going to be hard to work out what you’re going to need in terms of points this time because it’s the first time they have added a bonus for in‑form late in the season next year, so we don’t know. You can’t really work it out yet.”
