WHATEVER else may be said about this European team, they know how to throw a bucket of ice cold water over the embers of controversy.
"click here to view a Ryder Cup video" Any lingering flames of contention after Nick Faldo ignored the claims of Darren Clarke and opted for Ian Poulter as a wild card selection were extinguish
ed yesterday as the players delivered a message of togetherness.
Widely criticised for not returning to the UK to try and play his way into the team at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles – a decision which prompted speculation he'd been given the nod by the captain in advance – Poulter shrugged off those polemics and emphasised how much support he'd received from his team-mates at Valhalla.
"Everybody on the team is united as normal," he said. "I think the team morale is great. I think everybody is really excited to be here this week."
While no one would have expected Poulter to be ostracised by his team-mates in Louisville, it was interesting to hear how those who were snubbed by Faldo also rallied round to lend their support.
Asked if Clarke had spoken to him, Poulter replied: "He was very supportive, actually. He's obviously, personally, very disappointed with not making the side. But Darren said: 'You know, I'm very pleased that you've made the side and you're a very worthy player of making that side.' That's the type of guy Darren is.
"He's taken it personally; he's very disappointed. But, on the other hand, he's pleased for me to make the side. Absolutely, that means a lot. That's the type of person Darren is. He's very respectful and he's a great guy. It was nice to have a chat with somebody like that after the situation he was in."
Poulter also took calls from Ryder Cup stalwarts such as Thomas Bjorn and Paul McGinley and bumped into Colin Montgomerie in a Japanese restaurant in London. Claims that the pair had exchanged harsh words were rubbished and Poulter recalled: "Monty walked past us and said: 'Congratulations on making the side and all the best in Kentucky.' I said: 'Thank you very much.'"
Of course, there was also plenty of criticism of Poulter for not travelling to the Johnnie Walker – Ewen Murray, Clarke's coach, said the decision "beggared belief" while Sam Torrance admitted he would have given the golfer a yellow card. "That's fine," the Englishman reflected. "I'm a big enough boy to go out and play. I'll have my role."
In a robust, if curiously humourless defence of his corner, Poulter's one quip about the team being a Scot-free zone (this is the first Ryder Cup side from Europe to contest the match without a Scot since 1937), came in response to a question about the absence of Montgomerie from the team room for the first time since 1991.
"I guess it's Scot-lite," replied the Englishman. "Monty is a huge figure in European Tour golf and it's a shame he's not on the side. But I think all the guys that are in the team room are happy to be here. It's unfortunate he's not here, but the team is very strong."
Otherwise Poulter's determination to avoid misunderstanding saw him shy away from mischief. Faldo has said to Poulter on a couple of occasions 'Raquel, get your coat' in an allusion to a catchphrase from the TV comedy Only Fools and Horses. Other than to allow he'd refrained from calling the captain 'Rodney', Poulter gave a very dry response about there being "lots of laughs" in the team room.
Although Poulter doesn't feel as if he has anything to prove as a captain's pick – a view echoed by Paul Casey – his likely partner, Justin Rose, reckons his friend has the strength of character to make a point and is usually at his best under the cosh.
Asked if the team had rallied round Poulter, Rose replied: "Yes and no. I think Ian can take care of himself. I think he found that whole couple of weeks very tough, and I'm sure that given the opportunity again, he might do things differently.
"But, at the same time, he's been amazingly upbeat and he's come into this team believing he should be on the team, which is exactly what you want from him. And again, he's been very comfortable in the team room and all of the other players have been very comfortable around him.
"As much as I know of Ian, when he's got a point to prove, he normally goes out there and proves it. I've shared rooms with him back in the day on the Challenge Tour or in our early days of the European Tour, and I could always sense that when he would say, 'right, I'm going to win one of the next three or four weeks,' a couple of times he's gone out and done it. He's got that mindset of a point to prove, and I think that's good for him."
Casey, a fellow pick who also didn't play at Gleneagles, couldn't rationalise why Poulter took the heat and he didn't. "I have no idea," he replied. "Ian has taken a lot of flak over the past couple of weeks. The thing is, now we're a team of 12 guys. Certainly this week, we've been a unit. We've both been included and we are part of that team."
The full article contains 919 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
