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Reuters

Ian Poulter has become the symbolic beating heart of Europe's Ryder Cup team, the man the home players and fans will look to and the player the Americans badly want to beat.
And he is absolutely loving it all.
Rarely, if ever, has a player produced such sustained brilliance in the biennial tournament while at the same time struggling to make an impact on the regular tours as Poulter has in recent years.
Seldom can one player's performance - and demeanour - have had such a defining impact as Poulter's did two years ago when he was so instrumental in Europe's fightback from 10-4 down to take the unlikeliest of victories.

	I just can't wait to get that buzz again at Gleneagles. Everything else just feels like a disappointment by comparison

	Ian Poulter
The statistics are impressive enough, but still tell only half the story.
Poulter has won 12 of his 15 matches, including all four singles, in four Ryder Cups. That 80 per cent success rate is the best by any European yet and the best by anyone from either side who has played in at least three of the tournaments.
He has won 11 of his last 12 matches, including seven in a row.
Since the last of them, however, success has been scarce, with a solitary tournament victory a month later and a dire 2014 including only one top-10 finish.
His selection as one of Paul McGinley's wild cards, however, was never in doubt and the 38-year-old Englishman is champing at the bit to repay his captain's faith.

"I just can't wait to get that buzz again at Gleneagles. Everything else just feels like a disappointment by comparison," he said.
"If you think of it as a 10 for the Ryder Cup, I'd still only give it a three for playing in even the Masters.
"The trick is to feel that pumped up, but to keep your focus. For me, getting to that state of intensity actually helps me perform. I don't know why."
Intensity should be engraved in capital letters on Poulter's golf bag as his fist-pumping, eye-popping, throat-roaring exhortations have become etched into golf's rich memory bank.
Both captains have sought to play down the individual importance of Poulter this week, with stock answers: "it's worth one point, the same as any other match", but nobody is buying.
Poulter is over some minor injury niggles, fully rested and ready to go again.
"I was hitting some balls with him and I've never seen a guy so charged up 10 days before a Ryder Cup," teammate Graeme McDowell said this week.
"Literally, the guy is just fizzed. It's very infectious to be around that type of passion. He embraces the Mr Ryder Cup role, so he will be ready."


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Ian Poulter's proud Ryder Cup record makes him a marked man

England's Ian Poulter has a remarkable record in the Ryder Cup, winning 12 out of 15 singles. Photo: AP

Ian Poulter knows he will be a marked man when he competes against the US in the Ryder Cup. Photo: EPA

Sport

Golf

Europeans hope Englishman's Ryder Cup form rubs off on them as US target prized scalp
