It was like Ian Poulter took on a dual personality when the biennial Ryder Cup came around. He was the heartbeat of Europe’s dressing room on his seven appearances against the USA.
Not only did he step into another beastly being, but he also changed occupation from professional golfer into a postman – The Postman. And it was in Wales in 2010 when he was first given his red delivery van and high-vis vest.
Europe led the US by three points after three days of wet match play golf at Celtic Manor, and Poulter was drawn to face Matt Kuchar in the Monday singles. Kuchar hadn’t lost yet that Ryder Cup, and recently won the Barclays on the PGA Tour.
Sky Sports broadcaster and coach Tim Barter headed to the driving range to grab a word with the competitors before the final day started, and Poulter uttered some words that have never since been forgotten.
“I was asked to go to the range to grab a couple of players. I knew that Poulter would be up for it because – he was great to work with from that point of view. I didn’t want to take too much of his time. Having asked for his thoughts on a couple of things, I asked about playing Matt Kuchar, who had been in great form of late,” Barter said in an interview with Golf Business Quarterly.
“And he just calmly said: ‘I will deliver a point.’ I was listening but also forming the next question in my mind, and started to ask it, and then I said: ‘What?! You are guaranteeing that you are going to deliver a point?’ And he replied: ‘I will deliver a point, I will win this match.’
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Tim Barter: Ian Poulter got ‘The Postman’ nickname at Celtic Manor
“I was told that Tiger was watching in the team room, and he got on a buggy and raced to the range to tell Kuchar what Poulter had just said. Poulter went out and won quite comfortably, and that’s where ‘The Postman’ nickname came from.
“A lot of players might think like that but you are never going to say it. It reminded me a bit of Seve, Seve might have said it to me off camera, but never on it. Those are the moments where you really pinch yourself.”
Poulter delivered the point on the 14th hole and kept his promise. The Englishman has never lost a singles match in his stellar Ryder Cup career and earned 16 points across 25 matches. Impressive indeed. He seemed to conjure his best golf in this format, yet a major title has always eluded him.
Barter has had a front row seat to many surreal Ryder Cup moments. He was originally a club professional at Botley Park in Southampton, having started as an assistant at The Downshire in Berkshire when he was 16.
He picked the brains of the best coaches in the world, like David Leadbetter, Chuck Cook, Hank Haney, and John Jacobs. Barter coached Darren Clarke, Andrew Coltart and Seve Ballesteros, no less. One of his most memorable moments came in 2021 though, when he was able to celebrate with Richard Bland, who won the British Masters at the Belfry, 478 starts into his DP World Tour career.
Considering the players he’s worked with and the view he has had with Sky Sports for over 30 years, the Ryder Cup is close to his heart. While Poulter provided him with a career highlight 15 years ago, it was when he interviewed Jose Maria Olazabal after Europe won the 2012 Ryder Cup, where his sentimental side came out.
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“I had two massive blubs at the 2012 Ryder Cup with Jose Maria. I had developed a close relationship with him over the years and particularly in the run-up to that Ryder Cup,” he added.
“The Miracle at Medinah comeback was completely and utterly ridiculous and being close to him and knowing what it meant to him made me emotional too. I knew through the grapevine that they were going to wear images of Seve on their shirts on the Sunday, and that when I asked him before the singles about Seve, which I had to do journalistically, I knew that he would lose it.
“So I saved that for the end, and he just burst into tears, just couldn’t speak. That then set me off and I burst into tears, and I literally could not stop myself crying. Then when Europe won, I asked how it felt to lead his team to victory in such dramatic fashion.
“He just looked at the skies and says: ‘This one is for him!’ His hat went over his face and he’s in floods of tears. I’m incredibly privileged to be in that position. I’m the first guy who gets to talk to the winning captain, and I find that almost unbelievable every time I do it.”
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