SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — If he’s on your team, you love him. If he’s not, you hate him.
If Ian Poulter were a football player, opposing coaches would be up late into the night game-planning ways to stop him.
If the 45-year-old Englishman were a basketball player, he’d be Dennis Rodman, relishing the act of getting under his opponents’ skin.
If he were a hockey player, opposing teams’ enforcers would be sent onto the ice to bury him into boards.
Poulter, who has carved out a pretty good career on the PGA Tour and in Europe, winning three times and amassing more than $26 million, is a unique force of nature at the Ryder Cup.
He’s the heartbeat of the European team, which Friday morning begins its defense to retain the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits. He has been one of Europe’s most prolific Ryder Cup performers, entering this week with a 14-6-2 record that includes a 5-0-1 mark in singles in his six appearances.
Poulter is 2-3-2 in his past two Ryder Cup appearances, perhaps giving the Americans hope his mojo is running out. But counting on that could be a dangerous game.
No one wants to play Poulter when he gets on a roll, begins draining long birdie putts and starts strutting around like a peacock with his eyes popping out of their sockets and veins bulging from his reddened forehead.
Yet everyone wants to play him because they burn to be the one to take him down and shut him up.
Poulter was made for the Ryder Cup as Ali was made for boxing.
“He’s one of the guys in other sports that you may hate him if he’s not on your team, but you love him if he’s on yours,’’ Spaniard Jon Rahm said Thursday.
“I’m sure I’ve annoyed plenty,’’ Poulter said with a mischievous grin. “I mean, my [win] percentage has been really nice for me and not for the guys I’ve played against, so I’m sure that’s been pretty frustrating to be on the receiving end of that. I enjoy holing putts and winning matches. It’s been a great ride. I’m never going to apologize for it.’’
No apologies necessary.
“When he’s holing putts from everywhere, [opponents] just want to throw him in the lake, I’m sure,’’ Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick said. “You just don’t want to face that. When he’s on, he’s a man on a mission. He’s pretty much unstoppable when he’s doing that to you. From my side, long may it continue this week.’’
At 50th in the world rankings entering this week, Poulter is the lowest-ranked among the 24 players on both teams. But you can throw that statistic into Lake Michigan.
“He’s Mr. Ryder Cup,’’ fellow Englishman Paul Casey said.
“He’s one of those players that you might get once in a generation that embody the spirit of the Ryder Cup,’’ Rahm said.
Poulter is Europe’s latest version of Colin Montgomerie, who was a highly accomplished player on the European Tour. Montgomerie never won a major or a tournament in America, but at Ryder Cups he transformed into a Scottish version of Tiger Woods, compiling a 20-9-7 record as a player and winning one as a captain.
“[Poulter is] a big majority of the glue for this team,’’ Casey said. “We don’t lack energy. We don’t lack glue. He just adds to it so much more. I don’t know what makes him tick. All I know is it’s very, very special. It’s infectious.’’
Rahm was asked what it would be like to go against Poulter.
“When he gets possessed? I wouldn’t want to play Ian, especially in that mode like we saw at Medinah [in 2012, when he went 4-0 in a one-point Europe triumph],’’ Rahm said. “You have somebody who is a very good putter [and] who will make the putt at the right time. Even though [he] might not look like anything special, he’s not going to make any mistakes and he’s going to hold onto that match and just be there and be relentless and that is the worst type of opponent. He’s a tough man to beat.’’
Asked what clicks in for him at Ryder Cups, Poulter said, “I hate losing.’’
“You see the guy when you play match play and you know what you have to do when you tee up on the first hole,’’ he said. “You can control a match. You can dictate a match. You can play certain shots to try and put your opponent under pressure. It’s just a fun game of chess.’’
Bobby Fischer in golf spikes.
Poulter’s teammates embrace his energy. His opponents loathe it.
“I wouldn’t want to play him,’’ Casey said. “Glad he’s on my team.’’