Poulter hopes Ryder surge will continue

DONGGUAN, China - Agence France-Presse

English golfer Ian Poulter (R) says that he hopes to build on the momentum after helping the European team win the Ryder Cup against the team US. REUTERS photo

Ian Poulter said his Ryder Cup heroics were the catalyst for his gritty WGC-HSBC Champions victory yesterday, and hoped a new mindset would take him all the way to his first Major win.

Poulter said coming back from four shots back to beat a top-quality field by two was “definitely” inspired by his performance at Medinah, where he won all four of his points to lead Europe’s thrilling comeback.

The 36-year-old Englishman finished fourth at last week’s BMW Masters and on Sunday he shot a brilliant seven-under-par 65 under pressure to claim his first win of the year, and one of the biggest of his career.

“I’ve definitely taken a lot from the Ryder Cup and I’m riding that wave as much as I possibly can,” he said at Missions Hills in Dongguan, southern China.

“Hopefully I can continue with the confidence that I’ve got from the Ryder Cup to just bottle as much of that as I possibly can and use that in stroke-play events. It definitely worked last week. It definitely worked this week.

“So there’s definitely a little mindset change... and hopefully we can continue to do that for a long time.” Poulter has now won two World Golf Championship events, after the 2010 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, and returns home to his family in Florida $1.2 million richer.

He admitted yesterday’s win was “not the same kind of buzz” as the Ryder Cup. But he said a post-Medinah change in attitude may help him finally land a Major, after top-10 finishes at this year’s Masters, British Open and PGA Championship.

“I base my schedule around the Majors, and obviously players get looked upon with how they have played golf over the years by how many Majors they have won,” Poulter said.

“I haven’t done that yet, and hopefully this will help towards confidence -- not that I really need too much of that, but just getting me into the right mindset to go out there and perform like I know I can.

“I know I’ve got the golf game to be able to go out there and win Majors. People keep asking all the time: ‘When, when, when?’ “I don’t know when, and I’m trying really hard and obviously I’d like to put one in the trophy cabinet. Simple. But I’ll do my best next year and see if I can do that.”