Playing it with passion

Just like Seve Ballesteros and Colin Montgomerie before him, Ian Poulter saves his very best golf for the Ryder Cup where his eye-bulging, fist-pumping passion repeatedly gives Europe a huge boost.

It was Poulter who earned one of two valuable points late in Saturday’s fourballs to give his team a spark of momentum in what many viewed as a losing cause at Medinah Country Club with the US heading into the concluding singles 10-6 ahead.

Lifted by that faint glimmer of hope, the Englishman was one of eight players who won on Sunday as Europe completed an astonishing come-from-behind victory that left the American team stunned.

"It’s a passion I have; it’s a passion I’ve seen at the Ryder Cup for years and years as a kid growing up, and it’s something that comes from within,î Poulter said after beating US Open champion Webb Simpson two up.

"Whether it’s this good man right on my left sleeve right now that’s pulled us through this, I don’t know," he added, pointing to a silhouette of the late Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros, who died last year aged 54 after a battle with cancer.

The entire team played in the navy blue colours once favoured by Ballesteros.

Poulter ended his week at Medinah with a perfect 4-0-0 record.

His overall record is 12-3-0, the highest winning percentage by a European who has played in at least three Cups.