Can Ian Poulter become Ryder Cup captain again?
Professional golfer Ian Poulter shocked the world after joining the Saudi-backed LIV golf league in June 2022. While his decision to join the league might have earned him a fortune, it has had drastic effects on his participation in the majors and especially the Ryder Cup.
However, DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley recently announced that would not bar any LIV golfers from getting picked up by Ryder Cup teams. This means Ian Poulter could still be a part of the biennial event. Since PGA Europe chooses the captain, Poulter being picked is almost or equal to impossible.
The US team qualification is quite sorted for both PGA Tour and LIV Golf players. But the case with the European Team is complicated. The captain of the European team has already been announced for the 2023 edition of the Ryder Cup, and he is none other than former no. 1 Luke Donald.
The European team has two selection criteria for players. The first is that six golfers get selected on the basis of their performance from September 2022 to September 2023 and the second is the six players picked by the captain.
Neither Ian Poulter nor any other LIV golfer has done anything phenomenal as per the first selection criteria. Henceforth, their only chance to get selected for a team is by the captain's pick.
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The Ryder Cup 2023 will commence on September 9 in Rome, Italy. Though the biggest biennial event is just five months away, there is no clarity on the squad. However, both the US team and the European team have picked their captains as Zach Johnson and Luke Donald respectively.
"Don't expect to get one of the six" - Ian Poulter is not quite confident about getting picked by the Ryder Cup team captain
After the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January 2023, Ian Poulter spoke with the media and said that he would love to qualify for the Ryder Cup and the European team. He feels he will not be the captain's pick. However, he has not given up on his Ryder Cup dream.
"I would love to qualify. Whether I play or not would be a different thing. I haven't given up on anything. If I win these two weeks, who knows? I certainly don't expect to get one of the six (captain's) picks. Not in any way, shape or form. Which is also a shame. What does that tell you? What is the story there?"
Later, in March 2023, Ian Poulter participated in a Q&A session with fans on Instagram. When asked if any LIV golfer would ever become Ryder Cup captain, he said:
"And if the DP World Tour chose to not have any LIV golfer as captain after they have supported them and still do for over 25 years then shame on them. Sad but that's on them. Time will tell and once all the info is out things will change I'm sure."
Earlier, Poulter was in line to become the 2025 Ryder Cup captain. But after Henrik Stenson (who also joined LIV golf) was snubbed from the 2023 tournament and his captaincy, even Poulter's chances of becoming captain seemed doubtful.