BBC Sportgolf

Always colourful and often controversial, Poulter is rarely out of the headlines.

The Englishman with the wacky trousers has promised to bring "excitement, passion and flair" to the European team after being selected - some say surprisingly - as one of captain Nick Faldo's wildcards.

The famed Arsenal fan showed his grit as he battled his way to the clubhouse lead late in the last round of the Open in July before being beaten into second by defending champion Padraig Harrington.

Poulter - a top-10 finisher on the European Order of Merit in 2003, 2004 and 2006 - is a member of both the PGA and European Tours and has won seven tournaments on the latter circuit.

His maiden title came in his first season on the European Tour in 2000, when he claimed the Italian Open and was subsequently awarded the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year.

Further victories followed in each of the next four seasons, the most prestigious of which came in the Volvo Masters in 2004. He also won the Madrid Open in 2006.

Poulter insists he was misquoted by Golf World magazine in March when they published an interview in which he apparently claimed that, when he fulfills his potential, only Tiger Woods would stand in his way of the world number one spot.

When Woods saw him at a tournament soon after he cried: "How are you doing, number two?"