Ian Poulter on Ryder Cup: I would love to qualify. Whether I play or not would be a different thing!

European Ryder Cup stalwart Ian Poulter has hinted he would consider missing out on an eighth appearance in the biennial event due to acrimony over golf’s civil war.

Ian Poulter plays a practice round at Yas Links in the build up to this week's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.

The 47-year-old Englishman is one of 11 players to have teed up under the LIV Golf banner competing on the DP World Tour this week in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links.

It is Poulter’s first appearance on the circuit since hitting out at Ryder Cup Europe for failing to recognise the recent birthday of Sergio Garcia, the all-time record points scorer in the biennial event.

He admitted that it had been a case of him “fighting petty with petty” before talking about the possibility of him being thrown a Ryder Cup lifeline if an upcoming court case goes in favour of LIV Golf players.

A long pause followed after he was asked if he felt that opportunity could still be up his sleeve this year before replying: “I would love to qualify. Whether I play or not would be a different thing.”

Did that mean he might not necessarily play if he had a sensational start to 2023 in a Rolex Series double-header in the UAE over the next couple of weeks? “We’ll see,” he added. “Let’s see if we get to Sunday holding a trophy. And let’s see how everything plays out. Let’s take it week-by-week.

“I certainly don’t expect to get one of the six picks. Not in any way shape or form. Which is also a shame. What does that tell you? What is the story there?”

Other LIV Golf players in the field at Yas Links include Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson and Patrick Reed, with Stenson and Poulter both having arrived in the Middle East minus their clubs.

“Distraction-free is my goal,” replied Poulter to being asked if a Rolex Series double-header over the next two weeks could, if that court case goes against the LIV players, mark the end of his DP World Tour. “So I’m focused on playing as good as I can. I have no reason to start talking about ‘what if?’

“I’m not in the pro-am tomorrow. I don’t know if they will put me on telly. But that doesn’t bother me anymore. 2022 was full of big distractions. And my full focus for 2023 is to have as little distractions as possible, play good golf and enjoy myself.

“It’s been a difficult 2022 with everything that is out there in the public domain. And as frustrating as that is for me - when I feel that some of it is really unjust - it has been easy to let things boil over inside. Because the whole story has not quite been told.

“Whether that is my fault, or that of yours (the media), or of theirs, it doesn’t matter. What matters to me more than anything else is that I’m 47 and I just want to play golf and enjoy myself. Too much has been said already, which is a shame. I’d just love to play golf with no distractions and see what happens.

“At the end of last year, I cut off from social media in golf and in general. I follow only what I personally want to follow. And that means no golf.”