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CHASKA, Minn. -- Its a fair bet that most people would name Ian Poulter as the player who best embodies Europes Ryder Cup spirit, if they were asked.Hes the guy with the bulging eyes, the standout celebrations, the 72 percent points-won record -- the man they have started to call The Postman because he has delivered so often.Poulter is a deserving star of Team Europe after five impressive appearances as a player, thats for sure, and he could have a big role to play in Minnesota as a vice captain after injury took him out of contention in a playing capacity.But could there be a case for giving longevity more credit, for a less-showy player who has consistently made the team and secured the trophy? Could there be a case for Lee Westwood being Europes Mr. Ryder Cup?The former world No. 1 has headed to Hazeltine for his 10th consecutive appearance this week and has an eighth success in his sights.He has already been on the winning side for Europe more times than any other player for that team or its predecessor, Great Britain and Ireland.Behind Westwoods seven successes, with retaining the trophy counted as a win, are Bernhard Langer (six), Colin Montgomerie (five), Ian Woosnam (five), Sergio Garcia (five) and Nick Faldo (five) -- who made a record 11 appearances in the competition.Its quite a list, and taking home the trophy from Minnesota would put Westwood, whose lack of a major title has been cited so often, joint top of the all-time wins list with Americas Billy Casper, who ended his career a winner of 51 PGA tournaments.It would be nice to be on another winning team, Westwood told ESPN. Im not sure anybody [else] will have been on seven winning [European] teams. And there are individual records to look at, as well. Id like to get past Nick Faldos total.Westwood needs just 2? points to claim Faldos European record as the competitions highest scorer, and four individual victories would put him top of the all-time list for that benchmark, as well.The former achievement would likely be celebrated with a glass of champagne and packet of pickled onion Monster Munch [crisps], but after nearly 20 years of playing experience in the Ryder Cup, he said the teams success is more important to him.There cant be much that Westwood doesnt know or hasnt experienced at the Ryder Cup -- the competition he loves for its emotion and needle; the atmosphere he compares to that of a soccer match -- and that could be invaluable with six rookies on Europes 12-man team.Strategy, dealing with pressure, handling the atmosphere and making pairings work are all among his strengths; his barbed comments about Tiger Woods and Davis Love III last week to ESPN were unlikely to have been made without having been thought through.No wonder Darren Clarke, who made Westwood one of his captains picks, has called his old friend his general, the leader who has been there and done it.I remember watching it [the Ryder Cup] on TV from The Belfry in 1985, watching Sam [Torrance] hole the winning putt, Westwood said. I went in 1989 and 1993 too, and you dont even have to be into golf to be grabbed by it. That is the great thing -- it draws non-golfers in.The Ryder Cup is definitely up there. Its been a big part of my career.Westwoods Ryder Cup memoriesValderrama, 1997(Europe 14? - USA 13?)My memories of this first one are all good. Seve [Ballesteros] captaincy, Faldo as a partner, playing pretty well, being in a team of people Id grown up idolising. I was a bit starstruck in a way. It was only my fourth year on the European Tour, and I had my practice round with Faldo, Langer, Monty [Montgomerie], Woosie [Woosnam], and Seve was there showing me how to play trick shots. It was slightly surreal.Brookline, 1999(USA 14? - Europe 13?)That was the first one I played in the United States, so I really didnt know what to expect from the crowd. It was a big course, and we played well the first couple of days, but not on the Sunday. It was still a great week with some good memories but the wrong result. I had a good partnership with Clarke, Mark James was a good captain, with a good sense of humour, and I remember the ferocity of the crowd was more than I expected.I didnt really get anything from the crowd I couldnt handle though. Im that kind of character: Not a lot bothers me, and I dont mind a bit of banter. There are certain players who, if a butterfly flaps its wings five fields away, they start again. That doesnt work so well at the Ryder Cup when people are shouting.The Belfry, 2002(Europe 15? - USA 12?)The competition had been put off a year because of 9/11, and it was the first time I had played in the Ryder Cup in the UK. The Belfry was only an hour and 20 minutes from where I lived, so there was a lot of home support. I remember the crowds were fantastic; they always are at the Ryder Cup. Myself and Sergio [Garcia] losing against Tiger and Love was sickening, but Phil Price beating Phil Mickelson was a great moment.The celebrations were pretty good too -- they normally are. They went all night and I think a couple of players were caught in the stands on the 18th green afterwards with beer in their hands at about 5 a.m. The celebrations stick with you; there was a great atmosphere in the bar, all the crowd were in there and they got right into it -- a lot of singing. I was probably the instigator of that. I remember Phil Price being there saying, Tell em who I beat, tell em who I beat.Oakland Hills, 2004(Europe 18? - USA 9?)We had a great team and were quite confident. I partnered with Sergio [Garcia] and Darren that week. I remember me and Darren beating Phil and Tiger. We were three down after four and needed something on the last. I holed a putt from five or six feet on the last to ensure that Europe retained it, which was one of my better memories. Langers captaincy was good: how thorough, meticulous he was in his planning.The K Club, 2006(Europe 18? -USA 9?)Darrens wife had died a few weeks before, and me and him were the two wild-card picks. We both had great records at the K Club and knew our way around. There was a lot of home support for Darren, and the Irish people -- great at getting behind the team -- were brilliant. That was the most emotional one, obviously for the wrong reasons, especially on the first morning on the first tee. Darren did a phenomenal job pulling himself together with what must have been going through his mind. I think it made it easier for him playing with me. You know with that sort of friendship when to talk and when not to.Valhalla, 2008(USA 16? - Europe 11?)I dont remember too many high points from that week. I was unbeaten the first day, getting two halves, which tied me with Arnold Palmers record of going 12 games in a row undefeated, but that was probably the high point. Ive only been on the losing side twice, and it hurts for a while. You try to get on with the rest of the year and put it out of your mind. I didnt go long after that before I played another tournament.Celtic Manor, 2010(Europe 14? - USA 13?)It was very wet and went into the Monday, but that was another great team performance. We had a great team, and I made a good partnership with Luke Donald. We won 7 and 6, beating Tiger and Steve Stricker on one of the days. Graeme McDowell holing the putt on the 16th and us winning on the 17th sticks in my mind. It looked like it was slipping away from us at one stage and there isnt usually too much in it. A couple of times we have won by a lot, but normally the key moments are during the Sunday when somebody gets the momentum or turns the game around.Medinah, 2012(Europe 14? - USA 13?)This has to be my favourite Ryder Cup, and the incredible last-day performance by everybody stands out. Ian [Poulter] gave us a bit of momentum on the Saturday night, but we were still 10-6 down with a lot to do. The lads went out early and put a lot of blue on the board and everybody else backed it up. To come back like that away from home was amazing.There was quite a positive attitude in the team room on Saturday night. Even though we were down, when the draw came out we all fancied the look of our matches. We thought maybe we could put them under a bit of pressure and it might get the home fans a bit nervy, transfer to the players. It was the confidence we had in ourselves. There were two or three of us in the team room who had played in Boston in 1999 and seen what happened when the American team got on roll there from 10-6 down. We figured: Why couldnt the Europeans do it?Gleneagles, 2014(Europe 16? - USA 11?)The crowd was good again, and I felt quite confident all the way through. Paul McGinleys captaincy was excellent and covered pretty much everything. Paul had done quite a bit of stats work and a fair bit on motivational stuff, so we were all pretty fired up. Sir Alex Ferguson came in the team room and gave us a little chat, but Paul and the vice captains and myself and Ian [Poulter], we all gave a talk that helped.I got Seves points total record in this one, which was a bit of a milestone, and it was a good performance by all the lads on the last day. There had been a good comeback from Graeme McDowell at the top of the order after being down against Jordan Spieth gave us good momentum, and it was a great shot by Jamie Donaldson to win. I was playing the group behind him, and the crowd went nuts. Hydro Flask Bottiglia . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. Swell Bottle Italia .S. hockey team after paying his dues as an NHL general manager for more than three decades and giving up a lot of his free time to help USA Hockey. http://www.italiahydroflask.it/ . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. Swell Scontate . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Hydro Flask Saldi . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. Time Magazine released its annual list of the 30 Most Influential Teens of 2016?Wednesday, and in the least surprising news ever, some athletes made the list. Named alongside impressive and notable individuals such as Amandla Stenberg, Jaden Smith, Malala Yousafzai and (of course) Kylie Jenner, are some of sports brightest young stars.Lets take a look at those who made the list, shall we?Gymnastics superstars Simone Biles and Laurie Hernandez? OBVIOUSLY.Snowboarding phenom Chlloe Kim? DUH.dddddddddddd.Olympic swimming champion Katie Ledecky? OF COURSE.Sixteen-year-old lacrosse equipment company owner Rachel Zietz? YUP.Interestingly, no male athletes made the list. Because, you know, who