Ian Poulter sounds off on his Ryder Cup future

The future of the Ryder Cup will be without Ian Poulter, unless something changes.

A five-time winner of the biennial match, Poulter looked certain for a captaincy role before defecting to LIV Golf in 2022.

As he later resigned his DP World Tour membership, the Englishman forfeited the possibility of leading Team Europe into battle against the United States.

Should the golf world unify, however, he has been turned away from the idea in the wake of how LIV golfers and former Ryder Cup stalwarts have been ‘treated’.

“Too much happened last time,” Poulter told Gulf News from LIV Golf Jeddah this week.

“Too much was said and that’s extremely disappointing from my perspective with the way certain people were treated and spoken about with reference to the Ryder Cup, especially when certain people have committed a lot of their life to work extremely hard for that product.

“So, the way it stands right now, with the current people that run that level of the organisation, things would have to change for me to be involved.

“That’s from an everything perspective, I’m not needed, they didn’t need me last time.”

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Ultimately, Europe did not miss the likes of Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia in Rome last October.

Led by Luke Donald, the home side dominated their bitter rivals at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.

And before the showdown, Rory McIlroy said: “I think they are going to miss being here more than we’re missing them,” whilst claiming that a lack of LIV players wouldn’t dent Europe’s chances.

That proved to be the case, with Nick Faldo and Paul McGinley – former European captains – stating the team had “moved on” and the players had “removed themselves from the Ryder Cup.”

Joining the side would only be in a staff capacity now, as Poulter ruled himself out of competing.

“My years of playing the Ryder Cup are done, I’m too old,” he said. “I’m 48, so I’d technically be 49 by the time next year’s edition rolls around.”

The 2025 Ryder Cup will take place at Bethpage Black, in New York. Despite an honest assessment of his future, that doesn’t mean the fire has gone out.

Poulter, a multiple PGA Tour and DP World Tour winner, would “absolutely” return, if bridges were ‘re-built’ and disagreements were ‘aired’.

“When you’ve given and committed so much of your career to want to be with a certain group of individuals, no matter what is said, good or bad, they will always be your teammates.

“I might not agree with some of the stuff they’ve said, and that would need to be aired and bridges rebuilt. But again, they didn’t miss us, they told us we weren’t missed and that’s okay.

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“There’s no question. If you cut me in half, it bleeds Ryder Cup, right?

“But I also have my own self dignity and respect in there to not allow people to say certain stuff and disrespect you.”

Meanwhile, Poulter slammed talks of a ‘world tour’ that has divided those on opposite sides of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf feud.

“Are we not already playing that now?” he asked, when questioned about the idea.

“Again, someone else wants a different product. We’ve got 54 players on LIV Golf right now, with arguably over half of them the best players in the world, so why does this product have to change?

“This is technically a World Tour anyway right now, so why do we have to change our product because someone thinks it will suit them better if they’re involved in another product.

“I’m sick of playing the what if game. I’m sick of listening to people’s rubbish to be honest.”

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.