Ian Poulter not thinking about the Ryder Cup as he looks to find form
Wednesday 23 March 2016 19:30, UK
Ian Poulter insists that a return to form is more of a pressing issue than thinking about forcing his way back in to Ryder Cup contention.
The Englishman makes his first appearance in the event after dropping to 67th in the world rankings, meaning he missed out on a place in the WGC-Dell Match Play by just 0.044 ranking points.
Poulter was first reserve in Texas should anyone have dropped out, but made the trip to Coco Beach on Tuesday night in search of the strong performance needed to ignite his season.
The 40-year-old hasn't claimed a victory worldwide since his WGC win at the HSBC Champions, while a frustrating start to the PGA Tour campaign has left Poulter sitting 32nd in Ryder Cup qualifying.
Although Poulter has featured in the last three European wins and featured in five of the last six line-ups, he admits he has plenty of work to do to be part of Darren Clarke's plans for Hazeltine.
My number goal is to continue to try (to) get better at golf," Poulter told a pre-tournament press conference. "I'm not thinking about a tournament six months from now.
"Last week I couldn't even think about a tournament that was this week. The Ryder Cup is as far from my mind as possible.
"Obviously I want to play in it, and I'm going to have to play better than I have been playing.
"The reason I'm in this situation is down to performance; I'm over the getting frustrated side of things. It's a fun challenge."
Poulter has been grouped with American duo Johnson Wagner and Patrick Rodgers for the opening two rounds, while former World No 1 Luke Donald is also in the field having slipped down to world No 92.
PGA Tour Golf
The 38-year-old tees off with Chesson Hadley and defending champion Alex Cejka, who came through a five-man play-off to claim his maiden PGA Tour victory 12 months ago.
