Hong Kong Open: Ian Poulter is hoping a move to America can make him the man to end what next month will become a six-year wait for a European major champion.

But first the 28-year-old will try to beat three of his Ryder Cup team-mates - David Howell, Miguel Angel Jimenez and defending champion Padraig Harrington - to this week's Omega Hong Kong Open title.

Buoyed by a play-off victory over Sergio Garcia in the Volvo Masters, the last event of the 2004 Order of Merit season, Poulter has high hopes not simply for his first tournament of the new campaign, but the whole of next season.

"It'll be a slightly different challenge, but it should be very good," said Poulter. "I'm playing 20 events in America and buying a place at Lake Nona in Florida.

"It means I can prepare a lot better for the majors and I want to contend in them. My goals are getting higher and higher.

"I don't know why it is we haven't won a major since 1999 (Paul Lawrie at the British Open). We have some fantastic players and there's no reason why we can't go out and win them.

"We showed at the Ryder Cup we can play, and it should be those guys who are contending at least. Five years is a long time - a ridiculously long time - and it's the great unanswered question. Why?

"But Valderrama was a massive confidence boost for me. I did it on a course that's set up like a major with level par always a good score.

"And I'm looking forward to going back to Augusta for the Masters."

While Paul Casey waits with some trepidation to see whether American golf fans turn on him for what he said about them, Poulter is excited about what the new year holds.

Casey, much to his regret now, went over the top with criticisms of the United States and even talked of hating them at the Ryder Cup, but while not wanting to comment about that, Poulter stated: "I'd like to think I will get a good reception. Fans over there have responded to me pretty well so far."

Helped, of course, by him making an effort to bring colour to the game with outlandish hair styles and colours and then, of course, his Union Jack and Stars and Stripes trousers this summer.

He and Casey both start at the Sony Open in Hawaii next month, while Poulter will have good friend Justin Rose as his next-door neighbour in Florida.

"We'll be playing similar schedules and using the same fitness guy, so it should be good. And I'm hoping Justin can have a big year. I think he's a bit down after missing the Ryder Cup, but he's put in some great performances in America this year.

"He's a little bit hard on himself, like we all are, but if you'd been told at the start of the year there would be five Englishmen in the Ryder Cup side you'd have put your house on Justin being one of them."

Instead it was Poulter, Howell, Casey, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood who all played their part in Europe's record-breaking victory.

A hero of past encounters, Nick Faldo, is now eyeing the 2006 match not as a player, but as a possible captain.

Europe's tournament committee are expected to discuss the issue at a meeting later this month and will first have to decide whether they want to ask Bernhard Langer to stay on.

Faldo, also in Hong Kong, has just signed up to do television commentary work for an American network and is hoping to have up to eight golf courses under construction next year.

He runs a junior series and a fledgling management company as well - and wants to spends more time with his family.

But when asked whether all that could hinder the time available to devote to the captaincy he replied: "You know NF - if I pursue something I want to do it 100 per cent.

"The television work is only 12 weekends out of 52."