Ian Poulter suggested he may not play in the Ryder Cup even if he qualifies, with the Englishman jeopardising his involvement after joining LIV Golf.
Six of Europe’s top golfers will qualify automatically, with six more chosen by captain Luke Donald.
Poulter’s future on the DP World Tour is currently uncertain and he believes playing in LIV events means he will not be a Ryder Cup captain’s pick.
“I’d love to qualify. Whether I play would be a different thing,” he said.
Speaking ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, where he will play before the Dubai Desert Classic, Poulter added: “I haven’t given up on anything. If I win these two weeks, who knows?
“I certainly don’t expect to get one of the six [captain’s] picks. Not in any way, shape or form. Which is also a shame. What does that tell you? What is the story there?”
Henrik Stenson was sacked as Europe’s captain for the Ryder Cup – which begins on 25 September in Rome – after he joined LIV Golf.
A legal hearing in February will decide whether the DP World Tour – formerly the European Tour – can ban players who defected to LIV.
In the meantime, Ryder Cup veterans and LIV golfers Poulter, Stenson and Lee Westwood are playing the two events in the Middle East.
In September, Donald said it was hard to answer “hypotheticals” about picking LIV players, but Rory McIlroy has repeatedly said he does not believe they should be involved in the Ryder Cup.
Poulter’s now strained relationship with the event, in which he sparked the famous Europe comeback known as the ‘Miracle at Medinah’ in 2012, played out on social media earlier in January.
The 47-year-old complained about a lack of birthday greetings towards LIV and former Ryder Cup players from the event’s Twitter account.
“Through time I have said lots of silly things,” Poulter said of the incident.
“Should I have said it? Yes and no. All I did was highlight a fact. There was no other reason.
“Look, 2022 was full of big distractions. And my full focus for 2023 is to have as little distractions as possible, play good golf and enjoy myself.”
In the United States Ryder Cup team, captain Zach Johnson has added former skipper Davis Love as one of his vice-captains alongside Steve Stricker.
