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Poults and DJ win Shootout
Ian Poulter and Dustin Johnson shot a final round 13-under-par 59 to win the Shark Shootout in Florida on Sunday.
Playing a scramble format in Sunday’s final round, Poulter and Johhnson birdied seven of the first eight holes to race clear but then had to hold off a late charge from Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell before claiming a two-shot victory.
The 12 teams in the end-of season tournament hosted by Greg Norman at Tiburon Golf Club played modified alternate shot in the first round and better ball in the second and with a round to go Jerry Kelly and Steve Stricker were tied for the lead alongside veterans Fred Funk and Kenny Perry.
However, both pairings made slow starts, allowing Poulter and Johnson – rivals at the recent Ryder Cup – to come flying past and post a winning score of 30-under.
Poulter and Johnson shared $750,000 for the win and the Englishman said: “I figured playing with Darren and G-Mac they were gonna go at us pretty hard; they did. We made a lot of birdies today, hit a lot of good golf shots, holed a couple of good putts at just the right time, and it gave us a lot of momentum going into the back nine to make a few birdies to finish it off.”
Talking about how his partnership with Johnson came about, Poulter revealed: “I looked at a couple guys that had kind of committed, and Dustin was one that was thinking about it. I said, ‘Do you want to play, because I think we have a great chance if we do?’ He said yes, and here we are.”
Meanwhile Poulter’s short-game skills were praised by McDowell after the Northern Irishman just failed to add another victory to his memorable 2010 campaign.
“Ian is one of the best chippers of the ball in the world, and he was the man for the job,” McDowell said. “He was pretty clutch today. He played great.”
Kelly and Stricker, the defending champions, eventually tied for third at 26 under with Chris DiMarco and Anthony Kim while Funk and Perry slipped to tied fifth along with KJ Choi and Mike Weir, Jason Day and Rory Sabbatini and David Duval and Davis Love.
Tournament host Greg Norman was ninth in the company of Matt Kuchar while tied 10th and last were Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson, Justin Leonard and Scott Verplank and Mark Calcavecchia and Jeff Overton.
‘Great year’ for Poulter
Ian Poulter will take many fond memories from the 2010 season despite his disappointing end to the European Tour campaign at the World Champion.
The 34-year-old has won two tournaments this year – with a breakthrough victory at the WGC-Accenture Match Play the highlight – and a strong finish to the campaign saw him move up to number eight in the world.
And with two tournaments left to play, including the Chevron World Challenge starting on Thursday, Poulter says his work is not finished yet.
“It’s been a great year. I’ve had two wins, plus a Ryder Cup win (for Europe), and I’ve also had two runner-up positions as well,” he said.
“And it’s not quite over. I’ve got two more tournaments – the Chevron this week and Greg Norman’s tournament next week so I would like to cap off another couple (of wins) if I can.”
Poulter narrowly missed out on a third victory at the Dubai World Championship as he was beaten in bizarre fashion in a playoff with Robert Karlsson.
Penalty
The Englishman was given a one-shot penalty when his dropped his ball on his marker, causing the coin to move position on the green of the second extra hole.
Karlsson would have taken some beating in any case, as he lined up a three-foot birdie putt to his rival’s 40-footer, but Poulter still feels the rule should be looked at.
“My ball slipped from six inches above the coin. It managed to land flat on the coin and it flipped itself over. In the rule book, that states a penalty,” he said.
He added: “It’s a shame,” said the 34-year-old, who had been bidding for his second victory in a row after landing the Hong Kong Open title the previous week.
“The rules are there to protect everybody. Was there any intent to move my marker? No. It was an accident. Do I think the rule should be changed? Yes.
“It’s brought it to everyone’s attention that it’s a rule that could be looked at to change. But who knows? We’ll have to wait and see if anyone wants to take it any further.”
Poulter’s playing dilemma
Hong Kong Open winner Ian Poulter says he intends to remain committed to playing in the United States despite the European Tour’s decision to increase its number of mandatory events.
As of next season, players need to take part in 13 rather than 12 events to retain membership of the European Tour and the Florida-based Englishman admitted that planning his 2011 season will therefore not be easy.
As a result of the change, Poulter’s Ryder Cup team-mates Rory McIlroy and world number one Lee Westwood have already decided to turn their backs on the US PGA Tour.
“I live in Orlando, so the family is schooled there, I have three children, two of which school in the States,” Poulter explained.
“Rory lives in Ireland. His family is in Ireland. So therefore for him, I guess it’s difficult to see being over that side of the pond.
“For him, it’s an easy decision, and for me, I’m happy playing golf where I am. I’m very happy playing both tours, playing The European Tour and the US PGA Tour.”
Climbing high
Poulter’s win in Hong Kong at the weekend was his 10th on the European Tour and has also moved him up to number 11 in the world rankings.
It comes after a period in which the 34-year-old has been happy with his form but has been unable to capitalise – Poulter struggling in the final rounds of both the HSBC Champions in Shanghai and the Singapore Open.
However, Poulter now heads to this week’s Dubai World Championship filled with confidence and looking to climb as high as he can in the rankings.
“I think I’ll just try winning the Dubai World Championship and see how high I can go,” he added.
“Tiger (Woods) has dropped a lot of points. Westwood is world number one, and if I keep playing well, then who knows – I could get up there.”
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