Golfer Ian Poulter recalls receiving so much abuse for receiving a wildcard for the last Ryder Cup that he actually cut himself off from the outside world in the build-up to the event.

That's why he knows exactly what this year's controversial pick Padraig Harrington is going through, he says.

Currently Harrington is preparing for the match at Celtic Manor in two weeks under a barrage of non-stop criticism.

'It was absolutely horrible and I have every sympathy for Padraig,' Poulter told the press. It is supposed to be a fun period leading up to the match and it turned out to be one of the most stressful periods of my career.'

'I love reading the newspapers and stuff online and I wanted to read about the Ryder Cup and get myself in the right frame of mind. But every time I picked up a paper or went on the internet there was another columnist or another ex-player having a go at me and pointing out why I was the wrong pick.'

'The level of abuse was such it got to the stage where I couldn't read any texts or papers or switch on the computer. For me, it completely ruined the build-up to the event.'

But Poulter believes that the Irishman's obvious indifference to the media will help him.

'Padraig genuinely doesn't follow the game in the press, so that has got to be in his favor,' said Poulter. 'I honestly think he will be fine. It's matchplay and he is a fighter. He has an incredible short game and it's not strokeplay where you have to perform for 72 holes. In matches at the Ryder Cup, if you can turn in 13 or 14 very good holes, then hopefully you've done enough.'