For Ian Poulter, the price to pay to play the Ryder Cup again is too high!

The Englishman, who was the guest of the journalist's podcast Sports IllustratedMatt Vicenzi, felt that the price to pay in order to become eligible for Ryder Cup selection again was too high!

Ian Poulter still dreams of taking the captaincy of the Ryder Cup in the future but the Englishman has no intention of spending a single euro to comply with the sanctions policy of the DP World Tour intended for “rebel” players who left for the LIFE Golf 3 years ago.

I haven't changed my mind. It's not fair

Ian Poulter

The former world number 5, who played 6 Ryder Cups in the past, was one of the pillars of the competition for Europe with just 6 defeats in 22 matches. However, he remains far from his ex-teammate and undisputed record holder for the number of points scored in the event, Sergio Garcia.

The Spaniard will perhaps even be able to continue writing his own legend in the famous Europe/United States match since a few days ago, he announced that he was ready to pay the fines imposed by the European circuit in order to make “selectable” by Luke Donald for the 2025 edition.

3 millions…

The price of this return to favor is estimated at nearly 3 million euros since the DP World Tour sanctioned their members to the tune of £100,000 each time they participated in a tournament on another circuit, in this case the LIV Golf, without obtaining a release.

In the interview, Ian Poulter confirmed that the tour financed by Saudi Arabia's PIF had covered part of the sum.

That is 1 million pounds sterling, a little less than half of the total that Garcia must pay to recover his “membership” on the DP World Tour. A membership that he abandoned in May 2023.

“Personally I won't pay because I think it was unfair at the time to be fined £100,000 a weekexplains Poulter. This makes no sense to me. My position has never changed. I have played golf all over the world. I have never played and faced fines when performing at other circuits around the world. »

“So I keep this position today. I haven't gone back. I haven't changed my mind. It's not fair. »

…and no guarantee

If the Englishman does not want to pay, it is also because there is no certainty that Sergio Garcia will be selected by the European captain. Indeed, it is certain that the Spaniard will not be in the six automatic qualifiers and that he will have to benefit from a wild card the Luke Donald.

Third in the LIV general ranking at the end of the last tournament at the end of September, the man with 16 titles on the DP World Tour still has some nice leftovers at almost 45 years old (he will have them next January). But will that be enough to convince his ex-partner to call him to strengthen the team that will face the USA in Bethpage next September? Poulter is not convinced.

“I don’t know if Sergio has had a conversation with Luke recently about this. And we also don't know how many DP World Tour tournaments he plans to play. »

Photo © Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP