IAN POULTER is trying his best to put thoughts of Ryder Cup qualification out of his mind – but the issue refuses to disappear as he goes into the US PGA Championship at Oakland Hills which starts tomorrow.
Whether it is memories of his Ryder Cup debut at the same course in the 18½-9½ European victory over the United States in 2004 or questions from the media regarding his place on the verge of 2008 captain Nick Faldo's team, Poulter can try as hard as
he likes but the biennial clash is never far from view.
The Open runner-up followed up his strong Royal Birkdale finish with a tie for 16th at last weekend's WGC Bridgestone Invitational, sending the Englishman up to seventh on the world points list for the team and only 20,000 points behind his friend Justin Rose on the European points list.
Now Poulter has targeted a third big finish in succession at what is another big points-scoring event so he can put the matter to bed.
"Obviously the last couple of weeks has put me in a slightly different position than what I was four weeks ago," Poulter said.
"So, yeah, I understand that I'm 20,000 euros behind Justin and about 25 world ranking points out of position on the world list.
"There's no point looking at it any more. I understand where I am and I understand that these four days coming up are going to be very important.
"So I just need to play well, to be honest. It will be what will be. I can't worry about it too much. I can't keep thinking about it because it will take its toll, and I don't want to keep letting it affect my routine for this week.
"I just know what I've got to do. I can only do what I can do and that is play good golf this week. If I play well, I'll be in the side. If I play solid for the next four tournaments that I'm going to play, if I'm not in the side, I'm sure going to have a chance to be getting a pick. That's what I do know.
"There's just been an awful lot of talk about it and I've just got to get out there and play golf and enjoy myself. And if I do that then I'll be in the side."
Poulter, pictured below, is also anxious to avoid the matter of Ryder Cup qualification overshadowing his bid at Oakland Hills this week – although his finishing position on Sunday will dictate whether he can continue playing in the States with the pressure off or return to Europe for the KLM Open and Johnnie Walker Championships.
"I feel the way I've played, if I play well this week, then it makes it a very easy decision for me to probably stay this side of the pond and try and have two weeks off before the Ryder Cup, i.e. next week and then the week before the Ryder Cup," he continued.
"That's what I want to do, that's probably the best decision for me, for my health, for staying fresh is how I want to look towards the end of this week.
"If I really play well this week, then I'm going to be very fresh for the Ryder Cup. And that's how I want to keep it.
"If something needs to change by Sunday night, then we might have to look into possibly doing that (going to Europe), but that's something which I don't really want to keep talking about this week. This week is a big week and I'm playing good golf. So I don't want to try and get past this next week yet."
Fellow Englishman Lee Westwood, meanwhile, is looking to make Oakland Hills a place he will never forget.
Westwood is primed for a major breakthrough at the site of one of his best golf achievements.
A member of Europe's 2004 Ryder Cup team, Westwood is hoping to take the next step and win his first major championship.
"Driving in here it was nice to sort of see where everything was and bring back a few memories," Westwood said.
"It's always good to come back somewhere where you've played well in the past and you have good memories from."
But it is the memories from this year's previous majors in the USA that may be tougher to take.
Westwood tied for 11th at the Masters, but his real heartache came at the US Open, where he finished a shot behind the play-off between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate.
Westwood described himself as "gutted" to miss out on the Monday showdown at Torrey Pines but he also came away knowing his game was good enough to stand up in a major.
Playing in his 12th PGA Championship this week, Westwood's best finish is a tie for 15th at Valhalla in 2002.
Woods won the PGA that year, but is not in the field – the two-time defending champion has been out since winning the US Open after knee surgery.
So Woods' absence and the good feelings Westwood has at Oakland Hills make him as good a candidate as anyone to break a European jinx at the event. Scotland's Tommy Armour was the last European to win the PGA Championship, way back in 1930.
"It's amazing that a European has not won in such a long time when you consider the strength of European golf, especially over the last few years," Westwood said.
"The likes of Nick Faldo and Seve (Ballesteros) and Woosie (Ian Woosnam) and Bernhard (Langer) and Sam (Torrance) and people like that. And Monty (Colin Montgomerie). Monty had a good chance at a couple and it's amazing that none of us would win."
The full article contains 982 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
