Ryder Cup: Ian Poulter reveals how Thomas Bjorn inspired Europe with tattoo promise

Ryder Cup: Thomas Bjorn made an inspirational promise to is players (Image: REUTERS)

Ian Poulter revealed after Europe's spectacular win at Le Golf National that Bjorn's off-the-wall, on-the-flesh commitment had helped motivate the side to deliver.

"We had some extra motivation this week to make sure we put our hands back on that trophy. It will be a very interesting number to see," said Poulter, who beat world No1 Dustin Johnson as Europe took the singles 7.5-4.5 amid euphoric scenes in Versailles.

Bjorn admitted to regrets over dangling the carrot but confirmed he would follow through on the deal.

"It's going to go on a part that only [girlfriend] Grace will see," said Bjorn. "It's the worst decision I made all week."

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Everything else turned out perfectly for the Dane who masterminded a Ryder Cup rout of the favourites which saw records tumble.

Francesco Molinari, whose win over Phil Mickelson confirmed the return of the trophy, became the first European to win five points from five, while Sergio Garcia passed Sir Nick Faldo's mark to become the most successful player in Ryder Cup history with his win over Rickie Fowler.

"I've played two Ryder Cups before and I hadn't won a match – I'd been carried by the other guys – so it was about time I was able to help them," said Molinari.

"It wasn't about one guy. I'm just so proud of everyone in the team. It's an amazing group of guys. This team has been incredible from the start.

Ryder Cup: Thomas Bjorn promised to get the Ryder Cup score tattooed (Image: REUTERS)

Ryder Cup: Europe regained the Ryder Cup in stunning fashion (Image: PA)

"We were determined to do the job. Nothing was going to stop us. You could see on Monday when we got together it wasn't ending any other way.

"Any one of us would have deserved to claim the winning point – I was almost hoping it would be Sergio because to become the leading Ryder Cup pointscorer is an incredible achievement."

Garcia promised Bjorn three points when he picked him as a wildcard and delivered his third of the contest yesterday.

"Sergio's Ryder Cup story tells its own, it's a whole thing of its own, and it's a brilliant story. It's a fantastic achievement," said Bjorn.

Ryder Cup: European players celebrate with their partners in Paris (Image: PA)

"He is very much the centre of what we do, he is right in the middle of everything."

Poulter, another of Bjorn's wildcards, was in tears afterwards as he hugged his son Luke.

"I can't quantify how much it means. You see it in the emotion when we hole putts and you see it in the emotion of the fans," he said.

"To be able to represent Europe is extremely special; to be able to win this thing back is even more special."

• Europe thrash abject Americans as Molinari gets the party started
• Rory McIlroy and European teammates troll American journalist

For the Americans it was a sixth successive away defeat and a humiliation for two of their grandees, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Neither scored a point.

It was the first time Woods, who appeared exhausted afterwards and struggled to put coherent sentences together, had drawn a blank at a Ryder Cup.

"We obviously didn't win the cup. We didn't execute like we had planned and wanted to," said Woods.

"For me personally, I went 0-4 which is obviously very disappointing. To have a Ryder Cup end that way, for me personally, doesn't feel very good because I didn't help my team-mates earn any points."

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