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THE RYDER CUP

September 28, 2010

Ian Poulter

NEWPORT, WALES

GORDON SIMPSON: Ian, good afternoon.
IAN POULTER: Good afternoon.
GORDON SIMPSON: Here we go again, another Ryder Cup, and the atmosphere, just give us an idea how it's been in your first 24 hours here at Celtic Manor.
IAN POULTER: The first 24 hours has been good. I actually got here Sunday morning about nine o'clock to be honest, so I've had perhaps an extra day than everyone else. I felt I could come in a little early, get a little acclimatised and do a little practise Sunday, Monday, take a little look at the golf course and go out there today and familiarise myself with the holes that I really had not seen. I've enjoyed that.
GORDON SIMPSON: What do you make of it, the new layout?
IAN POULTER: I like it. The golf course, it's difficult. If you can hit it off line, you're going to be punished, badly. But I think it sets up very well. I think the fairways are pretty generous. It's in incredible condition. The fairways are good. The putting surfaces are pure. They are probably running about 10 and a half on the Stimp which is quick enough.
So I mean, it's going to be a good match-play week.
GORDON SIMPSON: Graeme McDowell thought there might be the x-factor.
IAN POULTER: Already I love it. Last night we had a team meeting and the backroom staff have done a good job. I think Monty has picked very wisely, so there's a lot of fun, but there's obviously a lot of good conversations coming out already. So a lot of thought's gone into that, and I think hopefully that should put us in good stead for the week.

Q. Just wanted to ask, about young Ross Fisher, you've played with him twice in the World Cup.
IAN POULTER: I have.

Q. How do you think that he will react to being a rookie, making his debut and how amazing that is for any player?
IAN POULTER: Personally I think Ross is going to do exceptionally well. He's got a great game for this golf course. You know, he drives it long. He drives it straight. He's got a good ball flight. A lot of the par 3s are fairly long, which means he can hit his long irons in fairly high. And also, you know, Ross is a good putter.
So he certainly, whether it's with myself or with somebody else, he'll make a great partner and he'll have a great week.

Q. Why do you love The Ryder Cup, beating the Americans so much; has that defeat two years ago gnawed away at you?
IAN POULTER: Yeah, I was disappointed. I didn't make it five out of five. I still look back upon that match that Justin and myself didn't manage to win. I feel like we could have turned that match around and that might have been the difference.
You know, there's a burning passion inside to go out there and to beat the USA team. I mean, it's as simple as that. I got excited to dream about playing The Ryder Cup back at The Belfry when I first went when I was 17. And you know, to hear the roars; Nick made a hole-in-one, and I felt back then, I would love to be the other side of ropes with The Ryder Cup team taking on the USA.
It's a dream for many people, and to be able to do that and to go out there and do it passionately, it means an awful lot.

Q. Rory and Graeme were telling us that they took the money off the Molinaris. Did you have a similar setup today?
IAN POULTER: I've got nothing left, thanks to Luke and PÃ¡draig. They cleaned me out, cleaned Ross and myself out.
Yeah, Paddy had two eagles today, which was quite interesting.
GORDON SIMPSON: Monty said three.
IAN POULTER: No, he had two. He horseshoed out from 40 feet to make it three eagles. They cleaned us out. They made an awful lot of eagles and birdies out there. Good fun, for them. (Smiling).

Q. Obviously your previous two Ryder Cup experiences have been away from home. I just wonder how this differs for you, particularly as the sort of character who loves to feed off the crowd, and obviously this one is going to be at home.
IAN POULTER: Sure. Getting out there this morning was great to see, and I see a lot of people out on the golf course early. There's a lot of blue on the golf course, and that's great for us.
And also, you know, it's going to build very quickly. There's going to be more and more. The excitement is going to be great. Electricity is going to be huge, and hopefully I can give them some electricity back.
That's what I hope this Ryder Cup Team can do. I'm sure we can. And if we can help give them some extra excitement, they can give us electricity back.

Q. Can you see yourself as kind of chief revver-up or revver-up in chief?
IAN POULTER: I'll be revving them up for sure when those putts go in.

Q. Do you wish you had a point to prove like two years ago? It seemed to help.
IAN POULTER: I've got a point to prove; they beat us, and that's enough, I think. Obviously I know the question you're asking. But obviously I made the side early, as opposed to getting a pick. But to be on the losing side wasn't enjoyable, even though I played fairly well. I certainly would like to go out there this time and prove a point; that this European Team is as strong as ever, and that we can go out there and do it on home soil.

Q. On a similar line, PÃ¡draig had said that getting a captain's pick sort of revved him up quite a bit; did you notice he was revved up today, and how he's been playing recently?
IAN POULTER: Paddy played well, he played exceptionally well this morning which is great for the team, but bad for my pocket which is all good. He drove it straight and drove it long and put it in position for 18 holes today, and that's great.
Hopefully it has revved him up and it's certainly done the trick, for sure. I knew what it did to me last time around and if that does the same for PÃ¡draig this time around, then, you know what, he's going to be a serious danger man.

Q. He said he was going to change his attitude in the team room; have you noticed a change in that record?
IAN POULTER: We've only had one meeting to be honest but I think as the week goes on, you'll hear him being very vocal I'm sure.

Q. You always like to look your best on the course.
IAN POULTER: Yes.

Q. Do you approve Monty's sense of style this week?
IAN POULTER: Absolutely perfect.

Q. Were you fearful?
IAN POULTER: No, there's some pink in there somewhere during the week so I'm happy. It's not on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, but there is some pink in there. (Laughter).

Q. I know your relationship with Colin Montgomerie settled down a long time ago, but can you explain the chemistry and how things are between you?
IAN POULTER: I think the chemistry is absolutely great. We understand each other very well. I'm a passionate player and so is Colin, and that's potentially why we might have had the odd clash. But as I said, we understand each other. I respect him. He respects me. I think it's worked out great.

Q. Can you talk a little about gamesmanship? I don't mean necessarily unsportsmanlike conduct, but ways that players in these Ryder Cups get in each other's heads a little bit? How much of that goes on?
IAN POULTER: I don't think it goes on. All you have to do is hole your shot to six-foot and hole your putt and give it a bit of a fist-pump and that's plenty.

Q. You don't think that people are deliberately are trying to get in the heads of other opponents?
IAN POULTER: No, I think that's enough. If you're going to drive it in the fairway and hit it to six-foot and make birdie, you're going to get in their head, you don't need to play slow or anything like that. You know, golf, the golf needs to be doing the talking, and if you're going to be out there hitting decent shots, then that's plenty good enough.

Q. Monty came in yesterday and said nobody was going to be Tweeting all week, and then you were Tweeting a few hours later. What happened in the meantime? Did you have a discussion?
IAN POULTER: Colin in the team room last night said he isn't going to ban Tweeting. He would just like players to be respectful of the other players. And that's absolutely fine.
The team room's the team room. What is said in that team room stays there and that's absolutely fine. Everybody needs to respect that. So Colin said he has not banned it, but just like if players would do it respectfully.

Q. So you didn't have to have a word with him?
IAN POULTER: No. I didn't have to twist his arm. (Laughter) So I will do the odd Tweet.

Q. I wanted to get you to talk about the chemistry between the two sides, it's a lot different than previous generations in Ryder Cups. Is that good or bad that these two sides get along a little bit better than they used to, for the Cup itself?
IAN POULTER: I think because we play so much golf together, we all get on a lot better.
But I think, if anything, that's going to intensify things. I think guys are going to want to win more passionately than before. And that can only be good. I think both sides, certainly the U.S. side, get on better with each other. They certainly did last time around. I think they certainly will do this time around. It's younger. They understand each other a little bit more; like The European Team. We all know each other and we are all good friends. Hopefully that can be poured out on the golf course with how we are all going to play; showing some extra passion and putting on a great show for everybody.
GORDON SIMPSON: Ian, have a great week.

End of FastScripts

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