Ian Poulter has furiously denied that he has been promised a spot on the European Ryder Cup team.
On the eve of the PGA Tour's Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Massachusetts, Poulter freely admitted that he had spoken this week with Europe captain Nick Faldo, but insisted that Faldo had made no guarantee regarding his two wild card picks.
"I know for a fact that I haven't been given the nod," Poulter said, struggling to keep a lid on his obvious anger.
"I'm disgusted that people, players, media would think that Nick Faldo would be that unprofessional to have done such a thing a week before a number of different scenarios could (unfold).
"It's pathetic that people can even think that's the case. He's a professional, he's been a professional the last 30 years of his career and he's not going to start changing now."
Poulter relinquished any chance of making the European team automatically when he decided to play in the United States this week, instead of returning to Europe for the Johnnie Walker Championship.
The Gleneagles tournament is the final qualifying event before Faldo names his two wild card picks on Sunday to complete his 12-man team to take on the Americans next month.
Poulter's change of heart - he had originally planned on playing at Gleneagles if necessary to make the team - led to all sorts of speculation.
Fellow British player Nick Dougherty had claimed that Faldo must have assured Poulter that his Ryder Cup place was safe.
Poulter admitted he had spoken with Faldo.
"I told him basically that my decision is to stay here and play and I got the best answer I could have possibly got off a captain (which was) 'you've got to do what's right for you'," said Poulter.
"That's the most respectful thing I could have possibly wanted to hear from a captain."
Asked to respond to Colin Montgomerie's comment that Poulter "seems to have a hotline to Faldo", Poulter tried at first to play a straight bat, but could not quite help himself.
"I really don't need to get into the Monty discussion of he seems to think I've got a hotline. The fact is I know Nick, and I've been fairly friendly with Nick since I've come on tour.
"I shouldn't stop that fact just because he's Ryder Cup captain. I don't need to get in the discussion of Monty's discussions. He's got enough work to do this week to try to make the side himself. He should just be getting his head down and trying to play good golf."
With Poulter, Montgomerie, Darren Clarke and Paul Casey the four most obvious choices for Faldo's two picks, tensions are obviously getting frayed, but one thing perfectly clear is that all four players desperately want to be on the team.
"There are a lot of emotions going about, comments from players that I don't think should have been said, to be honest," Poulter continued.
"I think we're all professional enough to understand everybody's situation and professional enough to understand everybody's schedules, and we should be professional enough to understand people's decisions."
Poulter, sounding like a political candidate trying to persuade the voters, in this case Faldo, tried to make a case for his own selection.
"If you look at my statistics over the last 12 months in relation to the other names that have been put in the potential wild card pick choice, I'm 70 points in the world rankings ahead of Paul Casey and Darren Clarke," continued the Open runner-up.
"I've played well this year, and that's all I could have done. I don't feel that I just have to go back for that one golf tournament to prove my point.
"Look at the statistics for the whole year. I want to make this Ryder Cup side. I want to play."
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