Ryder Cup 2018: Ian Poulter says Team Europe are ready to 'take USA down'
A resurgent Ian Poulter has cranked up the Ryder Cup tough talk by vowing to "take down" America.
The 42-year-old Englishman, bouncing back from the "low of lows" two years ago when he was ruled out with a foot injury, also insisted Europe should relish rather than fear the return to form of Tiger Woods. The American's Tour Championship win "makes the Ryder Cup even more special," Poulter insisted.
He takes it as a "huge compliment" that the United States team consider him the player they would hate most to lose to. "Frankly, I want to take them down just as much," he said.
Watching the last contest from the sidelines as vice-captain was tough for Poulter, who has won 13 points from 18 matches and famously birdied the last five holes of his fourball match with Rory McIlroy in 2012 to keep European hopes alive and spark the "Miracle at Medinah".
"When you are at the low of lows, and that wasn't long ago, there is a voice in the back of your head that says 'you might not get back to as good as you were'."
Poulter, a talismanic figure who made his debut in the biennial contest in 2004, earned the nickname "The Postman" because he always delivers a point.
When asked if he would accept not winning a single point at Le Golf National as long as captain Thomas Bjorn was the man lifting the trophy, Poulter said: "Of course. 100 per cent.
"It's always about the team and however you go about putting that trophy in Thomas' hands, it would be a very proud moment to be part of that team. So we win together, we lose together. But as long as we win as a team, that's all that really matters."
Poulter will be the 46 by the time of the next Ryder Cup in Europe and is expected to follow in Bjorn's footsteps as a captain at some point, but he is not prepared to accept that this week will be his last appearance as a player on home soil.
"It won't be," he added. "I would like to think I've got more in me; I'll say that. I mean, I really do. I think how I've played this year is hopefully the start of me kicking forward again to play in some more.
At the players' first press conference on Tuesday morning, Francesco Molinari said the Ryder Cup carried more pressure than winning the Open earlier this year.
Rookie Tommy Fleetwood admitted the most stress he has been previously was at the birth of his first child. Wife Clare delivered their son Franklin last September and it was all a bit much for the 27-year-old.
"I was a bit overwhelmed when my wife was giving birth," he said. "I mean, what I can take from that into the Ryder Cup, I'm not sure."
Fleetwood is at his first Ryder Cup as either a player or spectator as the family finances in Southport could not stretch to the admission fees when he was a youngster.
"I've never been to a Ryder Cup in my life so this is my first experience of it all. I've only ever watched it on TV," he added.
"As a kid, we probably couldn't afford tickets. That's probably the simple answer.
Tyrrell Hatton, who said his childhood Ryder Cup hero was Colin Montgomerie, said he was keen to control his passion, adding that he hoped he is "not going to turn into the Hulk this week".
"I'm going to make mistakes. I'm human, and make mistakes like everyone else. But yeah... I need to stay level-headed."
Meanwhile, American players got their first taste of Le Golf National on Tuesday as practice got under way ahead of the eagerly-anticipated 42nd Ryder Cup.
Tour Championship winner Tiger Woods, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Masters champion Patrick Reed made up the first group, with world number one Dustin Johnson alongside Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth next out.
