European union so crucial
He could have just named Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald and got the message across equally well.
The trio are this continent’s Ryder Cup linchpins, the guys that make the European locker room tick and inspire their team-mates to exceed expectation. They also get the job done.
American veterans, such as Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, may have more experience than Donald, Garcia and Westwood but, like the rest of Davis Love III’s team at Medinah this year, they also possess losing records.
The statistics make for impressive reading from a European perspective. Westwood has contributed 19 points to the cause from 33 matches across seven appearances for Europe, a success rate of 58%. Garcia’s winning percentage is 67% across five teams, chipping in 16 points from 24 matches, while Donald’s three appearances have garnered 8.5 points from 11 matches, a 77% strike rate.
Their combined points total outscores Furyk, Mickelson and Woods 43.5 to 38 with the US trio having played 22 more matches, while the best this week’s cornerstones of the home team can do in terms of win percentage is Tiger’s still less than stellar 48%.
Crucially, while throughout Woods’s domination of the majors between 1999 and 2008, he failed to forge a successful partnership with his peers, the European trio have combined brilliantly, with others and amongst themselves, to power their team to five victories from the last seven encounters.
Donald and Garcia have never lost a foursomes match, winning all four of their encounters with the Americans in 2004 and 2006, while Westwood and Garcia have been paired together seven times since 2002 in both fourball and foursomes formats, winning four matches, halving two and losing just once.
Westwood and Donald, meanwhile, won their first match as a fourball partnership at Celtic Manor in 2010.
Now that fits Poulter’s explanation to a tee, although he felt what it was like to be on the other side of Westwood-Donald fourball partnership at Medinah on Tuesday when the duo “hammered” him and Justin Rose during a practice round.
“I think myself and Luke get on really well,” Westwood said yesterday, “which helps in a fourball combination, or foursomes as we played last time in Wales. It was only a practice round on the first day. I wouldn’t read too much into it. We came out fast and we were just way too good for Ian and Justin,” he added with a grin. “And they are a lot lighter this morning in their pockets.”
Donald also enjoyed his experience of playing with Westwood two years ago, when they combined to trounce the American dream ticket of Woods and Steve Stricker 6&5 on a sodden Sunday afternoon in Wales.
“I think Lee and I get along very well,” Donald said. “That’s always important in partnerships.
“It’s always pleasing when you’re able to take cash out of Poulter’s wallet; a few moths fell out at the same time, but it was fun. We both played well. We made a bunch of birdies together, and again, who knows if we’ll play together, but we certainly have a good chemistry between us.
“We have different games, obviously. Lee is great off the tee. He hits it long and straight. I think his long game, my short game, a lot of people have spoken about that in the media before; that you put the two together, we could have a few more than zero majors between us.
“I think we obviously complement each other. Lee is a personality on a golf course, he’s just very easy going. Nothing bothers him. He exudes a lot of confidence, especially this week, and that rubs off well on me.”
Westwood, meanwhile, credits Garcia’s livewire personality with raising his game during a lull in his career which coincided with the 2002 Ryder Cup at The Belfry.
“Sergio is a world class player and one of the best Ryder Cup players I’ve certainly partnered,” Westwood said. “He helped me at The Belfry when I was struggling with my game. He was the bouncy sort of exuberant partner that I probably needed to take my mind off the seriousness of the Ryder Cup and just sort of go out and just hit the ball and find it and hit it again and try and make a few putts.
“He’s great for that. He’s good fun in the team room and he’s very passionate about The Ryder Cup.
“He gets stuck in.”
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