Ian Poulter hints he'll snub the Ryder Cup (even if he qualifies)

Ian Poulter’s love affair with the Ryder Cup may be well and truly over.

Having played in seven editions of the biennial tournament – chest pumping his way to an overall 15-8-2 record, including 6-0-1 singles – the Englishman has now hinted he’d snub a spot in the Team Europe locker room should he qualify for the upcoming showdown at Marco Simone.

“I would love to qualify,” Poulter told media ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. “Whether I play or not would be a different thing.”

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While qualification is nothing short of a fair fetched possibility given Poulter’s last 12 months, a period which saw him jump to LIV Golf, drop over 60 places in the world rankings, and be banned form the PGA Tour, the comments still represent a sad stance from a player who’s been a legend for Team Europe over the past two decades.

“I certainly don’t expect to get one of the six (captain’s) picks. Not in any way, shape or form. Which is also a shame.”

A shame indeed. But all good things eventually come to an end, even if they are marred in controversy, pettiness and an obscene amount of money.

Poulter’s fractious hint follows his run in with Ryder Cup Europe’s Twitter account a week prior, where the LIV golfer got shirty after the they refused to acknowledge his or Sergio Garcia’s birthdays.

“Through time I have said lots of silly things,” Poulter explained, admitting he was simply “fighting petty with petty” over the viral interaction. “Should I have said it? Yes and no. All I did was highlight a fact. There was no other reason.”

A court case is scheduled in February to determine whether LIV golfers will be banned by the DP World Tour, a decision which would concurrently put an end to their 2023 Ryder Cup hopes.