Team success in the Ryder Cup and individual glory in major championships are not mutually exclusive, as the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal, Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam proved on many occasions.
But if Ian Poulter has to settle for just one of those things in his career, then being known as one of the greatest players in Ryder Cup history, the catalyst for the "Miracle at Medinah", is just fine by him.
Poulter won all four of his matches in Chicago, improving his overall record to 12 wins and just three defeats, including the momentum-changing victory with Rory McIlroy in Saturday afternoon's fourball session.
So far, the Englishman has been unable to translate the sort of golf in which he closed out that match with five straight birdies into a major title, but even if his biggest triumphs come in team events rather than individual ones – Colin Montgomerie springs to mind – Poulter couldn't care less.
"These may be my majors and that's fine," Poulter said after Europe came from 10-6 down to equal the largest last-day comeback in the event's history. "I have more pride and passion in winning the Ryder Cup than winning a major.
"I would love to win one, win them all, don't get me wrong, and I've been close [he was second to Padraig Harrington in the 2008 Open] but if I don't win another golf tournament, Sunday is going to go down as the highlight of my career."
Poulter qualified for his first Ryder Cup in 2004, but played just twice in the nine-point win at Oakland Hills under Langer, losing in fourballs but beating Chris Riley in the singles. He was a controversial wild card pick by Nick Faldo in 2008 having declined to play the final qualifying event, but justified Faldo's faith at Valhalla by claiming four points out of five in a losing cause.
After qualifying for the team in 2010, Poulter lost his opening game but won the next three as Montgomerie's team won by a point at Celtic Manor, but he again needed a wild card from Olazabal to make the side at Medinah. "We have actually revised the qualification for next time," Lee Westwood said, jokingly. "It's nine [qualifying] spots, two picks and Poults. It's the Poults clause."
Poulter was willing to try to define what makes him such a feared opponent in matchplay. "I'm a bad loser. That's why I'm hard to beat and that's why guys dislike me and want to beat me," added Poulter, who has also been on three winning Seve Trophy teams and won the WGC Match-Play title (2010) and Volvo World Match Play Championship (2011).
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