Poulter: Not worrying too much
Ian Poulter is hoping that another strong finish in this week's USPGA Championship will allow him to secure a place in Europe's Ryder Cup squad.
The Englishman finished 16th in the WGC Bridgestone Invitational last weekend, Poulter's performance in Ohio coming on the back of his runner-up showing in the Open at Royal Birkdale.
He has risen to seventh on the world points list for the team and now stands only 20,000 points behind his friend Justin Rose on the European points list.
Poulter therefore lies on the verge of qualifying for Nick Faldo's side and the 32-year-old wants to piece together four good rounds at Oakland Hills - where he made his Ryder Cup debut in 2004 - to ensure automatic selection.
"Obviously the last couple of weeks has put me in a slightly different position than what I was four weeks ago," he 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."
Decision
Poulter's finishing position on Sunday will dictate whether he can continue playing in the States knowing his place is secure 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."
