Posts tagged Poulter
Life’s an itch for Poulter as British golf star reveals: I’m allergic to grass!
Mar 9th
Life’s an itch for Poulter as British golf star reveals: I’m allergic to grass!
By Chris Cutmore Last updated at 12:51 PM on 9th March 2011
Ian Poulter can offer a novel excuse after he reliquished his WGC Match Play Championship title last month with a first-round defeat – he is allergic to grass.
For a sport played entirely on grass, such an allergy would seem a debilitating handicap – rather like a footballer allergic to leather, a jockey allergic to horses, or a darts player allergic to beer.
But Poulter saw the funny side of his affliction by posting on Twitter: ‘Just being seen, 64 different allergies I’m being tested for. Will be interesting to see. My back is itching like crazy already’, before adding: ‘So funny I’m allergic to every type of grass apart from 1 quality effort that. And All trees apart from 3. Chuffed to pieces’.
Don’t get too close! Ian Poulter has a rather unfortunate allergy for a golfer…
Poulter also posted a picture of ‘the list of grasses I’m allergic to’ (below).
Although a pain in the grass, his recent diagnosis appears not to have hindered his career to date, however.
Poulter, in 13th place in the latest golf world rankings, has made hay on tour, claiming 13 professional wins including the prestigious World Match Play crown in 2010. His last win came as recently as last November at the Hong Kong Open.
The Ryder Cup star is in action this week at the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral’s Blue Monster course in Florida, where he tees off alongside up-and-coming American stars Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson – a pair of big hitters who like to give the ball a good mow.
Poulter hails from Hertfordshire but is now based in the Sunshine State. Clearly he does not long for the green, green grass of home.
From www.dailymail.co.uk
Woods Poulter and Stricker go out on wild day
Feb 24th
Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker and holder Ian Poulter made early exits as the opening round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship lived up to its reputation of wild unpredictability on Wednesday.
There were 14 upsets in all from the 32 matches at Dove Mountain’s Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, fulfilling world number one Lee Westwood’s pre-tournament description of the first day as “one of the most exciting days of the year”.
Three-times champion Woods, striving to end a winless run of 15 months, was eliminated by 65th-ranked Dane Thomas Bjorn after 19 holes.
“I blew it,” the 14-times major winner said greenside after going out in the first round for a second time at this event.
American world number eight Stricker, who claimed the 2001 Match Play title in Australia, was stunned by 17-year-old Italian Matteo Manassero 2&1.
Poulter, who beat fellow Englishman Paul Casey 4&2 in last year’s final to claim his first PGA Tour victory, was beaten by American Stewart Cink after 19 holes.
A tournament record eight matches went into extra holes but three of the top four seeds ensured a measure of normalcy with comfortable victories on a day of dazzling sunshine, cool temperatures and gusting winds in the Arizona desert.
Top-seeded Briton Westwood never trailed in his match before beating 2007 champion Henrik Stenson of Sweden 3&2.
Second-ranked German Martin Kaymer completed a 7&6 demolition of South Korean Noh Seung-yul and fourth seed Phil Mickelson breezed past Australian Brendan Jones 6&5.
Woods appeared to hold the momentum in his match with Bjorn after sinking an eight-foot birdie putt at the par-four 18th to force extra holes.
However, he pushed his next drive way right into desert scrub from where he needed two shots to get back out onto the fairway. He struck his fourth to 18 feet and missed the bogey putt before conceding the match to Bjorn.
Given Away
“I had a chance,” Woods said after clawing his way back from two down after five holes to go one up after 12. “I had all the momentum going down 18 and just gave it away.
“The ball I should have put in play on 19 and consequently I’m out of here.”
Bjorn was gracious in victory.
“The game of golf needs him back at his best,” the Dane said. “It was one of those days on the golf course where we’re not proud of the way we played, but I’m proud of the way I hung in there.”
Poulter’s title defence was short-lived. Despite going two up on Cink after 14 holes, he watched his opponent sink several key putts before losing on the 19th green.
“He putted me off the golf course today,” the flamboyant Englishman said after becoming the first defending champion in nine years to go out in the opening round.
“That’s what you have to do in this format. I did it last year and managed to go all the way. This year I missed my chances and therefore I have been punished.”
Stricker had been one up on Manassero after nine holes but made a premature exit from the tournament when the teenager rolled in a 21-foot birdie putt at the 17th.
“It’s a big achievement for me,” said the Italian, the youngest player ever to compete in the Match Play event.
“I played really well. I achieved a victory against one of the best players in the world and a past champion.”
In other matches, US Open champion Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland hammered American Heath Slocum 4&3, Irishman Rory McIlroy swept aside American Jonathan Byrd 4&2 and Briton Justin Rose won a tight battle with American Zach Johnson 2&1.
South African Ernie Els came from three down after three holes to beat American Jeff Overton on the 19th green and Ryan Palmer reached the second round with a surprise two-up win against fellow American Jim Furyk.
From www.moneycontrol.com
Westwood Moves On; Woods &Poulter Eliminated
Feb 24th
Westwood Moves On; Woods & Poulter Eliminated
Defending champion Ian Poulter went home early in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona. The 34-year-old Brit fell on the 19th hole to Stewart Cink on Wednesday morning at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain near Tucson.
Meanwhile, the top seed and top-ranked player in the world, Lee Westwood, moves on after beating Sweden’s Henrik Stenson 3 and 2. Stenson, the 2007 winner of the Match Play Championship, replaced 64th-ranked Toru Taniguchi of Japan, who pulled out due to a neck injury.
In the second round Westwood will go against Nick Watney, who romped past Anthony Kim 5 and 4.
No. 2-ranked Martin Kaymer of Germany routed Seung-Yul Noh 7 and 6. Kaymer only had two birdies – and a bogey – Wednesday, but his South Korean opponent had a far more difficult day.
No. 3-ranked Tiger Woods, the top seed in the Sam Snead bracket, fell to Thomas Bjorn of Denmark on the 19th hole. Woods extended the match thanks to a clutch birdie putt on the final hole. But on the 460-yard, par-4 19th hole – the first, Woods pushed his drive into the desert and was unable to escape the detritus on his second shot. After punching back out to the fairway with his third, his fourth shot stopped 20 feet past the pin.
After missing his bogey attempt Woods, a three-time Match Play champion who had lost only once before in the first round – to Australian Peter O’Malley in 2001 – conceded to Bjorn.
“I had the momentum going into the 19th hole and I blew it,” said an obviously disappointed Woods in a televised greenside interview.
Bjorn, who won the recent Qatar Masters by four strokes, will face two-time winner Geoff Ogilvy, who beat three-time major Padraig Harrington 4 and 3. Ogilvy won the Match Play Championship in 2006 and 2009.
After opening a 2-up lead through 10 holes, Poulter watched as Cink reeled off three birdies to square the match. On the first overtime hole, the first, Cink carded a birdie to win the match and end Poulter’s hopes of retaining the title.
“I get my nose in front,” Poulter said afterward. “I really should have shut the match out, to be honest with you. Every credit to him, holed putts at the right time. That’s what you have to do in this format. You have to hole the putts. If you don’t hole putts at the right time, then you are going to get beat.
“I had all my chances today and I feel that I left some out there. He putted me off the golf course today. That’s what you have to do in this format. You have to hole putts at the right time. I did it last year and managed to go all the way. This year I missed my chances and therefore I have been punished.”
After a slow start, Cink finally saw his game come around. “It was like a Jekyll and Hyde kind of a round out there for me,” the 37-year-old American said. “I didn’t have much or on the front nine at all. Then my putter woke up. I made some crucial putts out there that got my confidence going a little bit. I didn’t hit the ball that great, but I birdied the holes you are supposed to birdie, the par 5s. And the 15th hole I drove it near the green and got it up-and-down. Ian didn’t birdie those holes. He did birdie 11, but he didn’t birdie the other two.
“I had some opportunities to make putts when I needed to keep the match going and chip away at the lead and finally, you know I had a chance to take the lead on the 19th hole and hit it in there close.”
Another upset occurred in the morning matches when 17-year-old Matteo Manassero took out newly turned 44-year-old Steve Stricker 2 and 1. Ranked 59th in the World Golf Rankings, the Italian teen carded four birdies and took a 1-up lead on the fourth hole until Stricker, who the event in 2001, eagled the par-5 eighth to go all-square. Manassero took the lead for good with a par on the par-3 16th, then birdied the par-4 17th for the win.
“I played really well,” Manassero said. “I achieved a victory against one of the best players in the world and defending champion – no, past champion of this event. So it’s just a big highlight for me.”
By a 6 and 5 score, Luke Donald got the best of Charley Hoffman, who struggled with his game. “Always nice to win your first match,” said Donald, who won an NCAA individual championship while attending Northwestern. “I played pretty solidly today. I don’t think Charley was in his best form. A win is a win, and going to the next round so it feels good.”
Another Italian, Edoardo Molinari, also advanced, beating Scotland’s Martin Laird 3 and 2. Reigning U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell beat four-time PGA Tour winner Heath Slocum by a score of 4 and 3. The Ulsterman got things rolling with an eagle on the par-5 second hole and took advantage of Slocum, who posted five bogeys in 15 holes.
“Heath didn’t play his best golf,” McDowell said. “But I played very solidly. I only made a couple of mistakes, just got a flier on 1, which just went over the back. But generally apart from that, drove the ball well, gave myself a lot of chances and just nice to win a match around this golf course, it’s my first one at this venue, and it feels pretty good.”
Another match in the Ben Hogan bracket wasn’t decided until the 20th hole, when Spain’s Alviro Quiros outlasted former PGA champion Y.E. Yang of South Korea. The long-hitting Quiros won with a birdie.
Rory McIlroy also advanced, beating Jonathan Byrd 4 and 2. After staying even through three holes, the Northern Irishman ignited his round with an eagle two on the par-4 fourth. He will meet Ben Crane, who beat Adam Scott 4 and 2, in the second round Thursday.
“I got off to a bit of a sort of shaky start, bogeyed the third,” McIlroy said. “But I made a nice eagle on the four, which sort of kick-started me, and was never down in the match from there. I played very solid golf, four birdies and an eagle. And had a couple of bogeys on the par-3s, but apart from that it was pretty good.”
Another Spaniard also moved on, as Miguel Angel Jimenez won 2 and 1 over Japan’s Yuta Ikeda. It took last year’s runner-up, Paul Casey, 19 holes to overcome Australian Richard Green. Tomorrow Casey will face another Aussie, Jason Day, who beat South Korea’s Kyung -Tae Kim of 3 and 2.
It’s been years since Day competed in a match-play event, but the 23-year-old Queenslander didn’t have any problems Thursday. He had two eagles and five birdies in his opening round to close out Kim on the 16th hole.
“I haven’t played match play since I was an amateur, so that’s going back since I was 18, so five years,” said Day, who won the Byron Nelson Championship last May for his first PGA Tour victory. “I’ve always been a pretty good solid match-play player, but it’s obviously different as a professional. I had a tough match. We were going back and forth. And then I won three straight holes, which made it a little easier out there today. But it’s just different strategy. I made him putt in a one-and a-half-foot putt on the first hole, just to, you know, say, I’m not going to give you any of those. Just to know that, you know, it’s going to be a hard match to play.”
Also moving on is Ernie Els, who beat American Jeff Overton with a concession on the 19th hole in an otherwise exciting match. “I just hung in there, kind of used my experience a little bit just to hang in there,” said Els. “Jeff wasn’t a hundred percent on his game, either. There was a lot of mistakes being made out there, but it was an exciting day.”
In the second round Els will face J.B. Holmes, a late replacement for Tim Clark, who withdrew because of an injured elbow. Holmes took out Camilo Villegas 4 and 2 thanks to three birdies and an eagle as the Colombian had an off-day, carding four bogeys.
Holmes arrived in Arizona Tuesday night after being notified he was in the 64-man field. Needless to say, the trip was pretty hectic for the laidback Kentuckian. “I was sitting in my house,” Holmes explained. “I was talking to my buddy. He was going to come over today and hang out. My agent called me and said hey, you are in. Start working on getting me a flight. I hadn’t unpacked yet from back from LA. I went and repacked and got the flight from – the flight was supposed to be at 4:40.
“I know I wasn’t going to get here in time to practice without any lights. Went back and went to the airport, got to the airport and found out that my flight was delayed and that it was an hour. That was going to make me miss my connection. So then I had to wait and sit in the airport for basically three or four hours. Supposed to leave at 7:00. Ended up leaving at 7:40. Got to Dallas at 9:10, 9:20. Got on a plane in Dallas around 10:00. Flew in. I think I landed here at 11:40, 11:45. I got in the bed at one o’clock.
“I was just happy to get in and played well,” Holmes said, adding that despite closing out the match on the 16th hole he continued on and finished the 17th and 18th holes on a course he’s never played before. “Hopefully I don’t have to play them this week. Yeah, I went ahead and played ‘em just to see them.”
Others moving on were Ryan Moore, who beat Molinari’s brother Francesco, 3 and 1; South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel, who needed 20 holes to edge Japanese teen sensation Ryo Ishikawa; Phil Mickelson, who routed Australian Brenden Jones 6 and 5; Bo Van Pelt, who upset British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa 2-up; England’s Ross Fisher got by Australia’s Robert Allenby 4 and 3; Robert Karlsson, a 5 and 3 winner over Japan’s Hiroyuki Fujita; Hunter Mahan, who beat fellow American Sean O’Hair 4 and 3; and Ryan Palmer, a 2-up winner over Jim Furyk.
Mahan is keeping a straightforward approach to this Match Play Championship. “It’s only twice a year, it’s pretty simple,” the three-time PGA Tour winner said. “You have to play good. You have to beat the guy in front of you. There’s no unbelievable extra strategy involved in it. You’ve got to be good, better than the guy you’re playing.”
Mark Wilson bested long-hitting Dustin Johnson on the 19th hole. Wilson, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour this year, will face another bomber, Bubba Watson, in the second round. Watson, who won the Farmers Insurance Open in late January, beat Bill Haas 3 and 2.
Of getting past Johnson and not being eliminated, Wilson quipped: “I’m thrilled to not pack my suitcase yet.”
Matt Kuchar downed Denmark’s Anders Hansen with a birdie on the 22nd hole to move on against Van Pelt. South Korea’s K.J. Choi beat South Africa’s Retief Goosen 1-up and will face Moore in the second round. Playing in his first Match Play Championship, Rickie Fowler vanquished Swede Peter Hanson 1-up and will compete with Mickelson Thursday.
Mickelson was pleased with his play in the first round and is looking for more of the same Thursday. “I love playing here in Tucson, it’s a special place for my heart,” the fourth-ranked player in the world and top seed in the Ben Hogan bracket said. “And I was able to make some adjustments with how far the ball was going and hit some good iron shots. But the key for me winning this match was driving it. I drove the ball well and kept it in play and didn’t give any holes away.
“My opponent is a heck of a player, but he hit two or three into the desert and ended up giving me a few holes, which ultimately was the difference.”
In the final match of the day, Justin Rose closed out Zach Johnson 2 and 1 with a birdie on the par-5 17th. The Brit will face Kaymer in the second round.
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From www.cybergolf.com
Poulter says golf’s rules need to be re-examined
Jan 26th
RIFFA, Bahrain – Ian Poulter says the rules of golf need to be re-examined in order to avoid the kind of high-profile disqualifications the sport has seen in recent weeks.
Poulter said Wednesday ahead of the Volvo Golf Champions that “if you look at a number of the scenarios and situations that we’ve had in the last 12 months, I think a lot of rules certainly need to be re-looked at for sure.”
Padraig Harrington was disqualified from last week’s Abu Dhabi Golf Championships after he didn’t replace his ball correctly when it moved after he picked up his marker.
Also this month, Camilo Villegas was disqualified from the Tournament of Champions after a rule violation.
Poulter said, “I think there’s no common sense involved with a number of the rules, so that needs to be addressed.”
From nbcsports.msnbc.com
Golf-’Silly looking’ rules need to be reviewed, says Poulter
Jan 26th
Straight-talking world number 12 Ian Poulter wants the rules of golf addressed following two high-profile disqualifications already in 2011.
“It’s about time they readdress some of those rules to see if it actually makes this game stay the great game it is, because it does look silly,” Briton Poulter told reporters on Wednesday, the eve of the inaugural Volvo Golf Champions tournament in Bahrain.
Earlier this month, Colombian Camilo Villegas was disqualified after a television viewer spotted him illegally flicking away a loose divot of grass while his ball was trickling back towards him down a slope after a chip shot.
Last week triple major winner Padraig Harrington was disqualified before the second round of the Abu Dhabi Championship after a TV viewer noticed he had accidentally moved his ball on the green.
Poulter used social network Twitter to vent his frustrations after Harrington’s disqualification.
“Rules of Golf Book, Rule 22-4, Paragraph 3, Line 7, the rules of golf are complete bollocks and are stuck back in 1932,” the Ryder Cup player wrote.
In both incidents, Villegas and Harrington were disqualified because their rules violations were reported after they had signed their cards. Had the violation been addressed during the round, a two-shot penalty would have resulted.
As a result the PGA Tour on Tuesday asked the United States Golf Association to review the rulebook and on Monday the Royal and Ancient (the governing body for the sport around the world except the U.S. and Mexico) told Reuters it was taking a fresh look at its rulebook.
COMMON SENSE
“There’s no common sense involved with a number of the rules, so that needs to be addressed, and even Jack Nicklaus said it last week himself,” the Englishman added.
American Nicklaus, winner of the most majors in the game with 18, said “probably the whole book of the rules of golf should be changed” when he spoke to the Golf Channel by telephone.
“Common sense never seems to prevail. A USGA rules official said that it was much more difficult to pass the test to be a rules official than it was to pass the bar (legal) exam.
“There’s no reason for that. The game should be simple. People should be able to understand the rules and the rules should be common sense,” added the 71-year-old. Poulter, meanwhile, defended his right to express his views online, a growing trend among leading sportspeople.
“Twitter is there for everybody to enjoy and opinions are opinions, right or wrong,” he said.
“Everybody’s entitled to their own.”
Poulter is the second highest-ranked player in the Bahrain field behind compatriot Paul Casey (nine) and will be hopeful of making more of an impact than in Abu Dhabi where he missed the cut.
“It was not how I wanted to start 2011 in Europe,” he said.
From uk.eurosport.yahoo.com
BBC Awards vitriol: A ‘farce,’ Poulter says
Dec 21st
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an otherwise innocuous awards show that was anything but this time around, most of the controversy created by golf.
Jockey A.P. McCoy and World Darts champion Phil Taylor finished one-two in the SPOTY, ahead of U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland and England’s Lee Westwood, No. 1 in golf’s World Ranking. This didn’t sit well with England’s Ian Poulter, who expressed his displeasure via Twitter.
“Why Poulter was Tweeting mad!” a headline in the Daily Mail said.
“IAN POULTER TEED OFF AT ‘FARCE,’ a headline in the Daily Star said.
Here’s a Poulter sampling from Twitter:
– “BBC Spoty farce, sorry how could @Graeme_McDowell or @WestwoodLee not win. GMac wins a major westy world no 1. That’s Bollox”
– “Darts comes second in the BBC Spoty voting get a grip. Congrats to AP. Great sportsman and a gent but wasn’t my choice”
England’s Oliver Wilson also weighed in via Twitter: “Just getting #spoty update, can’t believe westy nor gmac won or even placed! Absolute Rubbish.”
Then there was Colin Montgomerie, who received the coach of the year award for the European Ryder Cup victory.
“Colin Montgomerie coach of the year? You must be joking,” said the headline on a blog post by Lawrence Donegan in the Guardian. Donegan wrote: “…if you know anything about the Ryder Cup you will know the title of ‘captain’ carries about as much weight as a punch in the guts from Gyles Brandreth. Bad captains win Ryder Cups, great captains lose them. It’s the players, stupid.”
Former British Open champion Paul Lawrie was among those mocking this award.
“Didn’t know monty was a coach? Must ask him for a lesson……..,” he posted on Twitter.
“What has pete cowan [sic] got to do to win coach of the year”
Pete Cowen coaches both Westwood and McDowell.
– John Strege
Johnson-Poulter win Shark Shootout by 2 strokes
Dec 13th
The Associated Press
Published: December 12, 2010
Updated: 15 min. ago
NAPLES – Dustin Johnson and Ian Poulter won the Shark Shootout Sunday, shooting a 13-under 59 in the scramble format to beat Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell by two shots.
Johnson and Poulter took the lead with birdies on their first four holes and had no trouble the rest of the way in finishing at 30-under 186. Clarke and McDowell (59) never came closer than two strokes.
The two teams passed second-round co-leaders Jerry Kelly and Steve Stricker (64) and Fred Funk and Kenny Perry (66). Kelly and Stricker, the defending champions, tied for third at 26 under with Chris DiMarco and Anthony Kim (61).
The 12 teams in the tournament hosted by Greg Norman at Tiburon Golf Club played modified alternate shot in the first round and better ball in the second. Johnson and Poulter split $750,000 from the $3 million purse.
Johnson and Poulter, who played for the rival U.S. and European Ryder Cup teams two months ago, made the perfect duo in the three-format tournament.
After a birdie on No. 3, they maintained sole possession of the lead, although Clarke and McDowell gave chase.
“They kind of pushed us around,” Poulter said. “You know what, making the birdies they did, it was kind of good for us to see good shot after good shot, and good putts going in. It’s a lot easier to hole putts when your playing partners do.”
Funk-Perry and Kelly-Stricker started the day in front by a shot, but both teams started slowly. Funk-Perry made a birdie, then eight straight pars. Kelly-Stricker had three birdies on the front.
With Johnson putting first in the scramble format, Poulter took advantage, perhaps nowhere more so than on the par-4 15th. Holding a two-shot lead, Poulter knocked his approach to 7 feet after Clarke had put his close. After Johnson missed his putt, Poulter made his to keep the two-shot advantage.
The two teams parred the par-3 16th, but with the par-5 17th ahead, Clarke and McDowell had another chance. They couldn’t reach the green in two, but neither could Johnson and Poulter.
“It was definitely a lot harder than it looked,” Johnson said. “Standing there we were like, ‘Oh, this is a piece of cake.”‘
Poulter came through, pitching to 7 feet. Then Johnson made the putt to follow Clarke and McDowell’s birdie.
“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.”
Poulter, Johnson combine talents to win Shark Shootout
Dec 13th
Naples, FL, United States (AHN) – Ian Poulter and Dustin Johnson had the perfect complimentary talents and Sunday it brought them to victory in the Shark Shootout.
Poulter and Johnson shot a 13-under par 59 in the scramble format that got them to 30-under par for the 54-hole event at the Tiburon Golf Club. They beat Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell by two shots. McDowell and Clarke matched the winners with a closing 59 of their own in the scramble.
The winners went into the final round of the event hosted by Greg Norman trailing the leaders by a shot. Jerry Kelly and Steve Stricker led going into the final 18 along with Fred Funk and Kenny Perry.
Funk and Perry fell quickly by the wayside in the final round. They produced only one birdie in their first nine holes and finished with a six-under par 66 and finished in a tie for fifth at 24-under.
Kelly and Stricker were only eight-under for the day that was marked with blustery winds, gusting up to 20 miles per hour. They finished at 26-under.
Poulter sealed the win for his team with great shots around the final two greens. At the par five 17th, he hit a difficult downhill pitch to six feet after Johnson missed the shot with his attempt. Johnson holed the putt to get them to 30-under.
At the 18th, Johnson hit his second shot in the water, forcing Poulter to play right of the green. Again, Johnson’s third shot rolled past the pin and off the green. Poulter used a putter and almost made the difficult third shot, stopping his ball inches from the hole for the easy par.
“I needed a partner who could drive the ball 350 yards,” Poulter said afterward, “so I called Dustin and he said yes. It was great fun playing with him.”
The winners took home $375,000 each.
Poulter, Johnson find fast Shootout chemistry
Dec 11th
NAPLES – Though Ian Poulter and Dustin Johnson have seen a fair amount of each other on their PGA Tour travels, they weren’t really all that well acquainted when told they’d be paired together for the Shark Shootout.
From first impressions, this could be a team that lasts a while.
The Ryder Cup rivals teamed up to birdie eight of their first 11 holes under Friday’s modified alternate-shot format, posting a 9-under-par 63 that shared the first-round lead with defending champions Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly.
“Having Dustin as a partner for me is great,” said Poulter, playing with his third partner in three Shootout appearances. “I drive it pretty straight, pretty consistent, and Dustin’s length comes into play quite a lot around this golf course.”
The 63s matched the best round recorded in modified alternate-shot since the Shootout moved to Tiburon Golf Club nine years ago. The last time it happened came in 2006, again in tandem by Justin Leonard/Scott Verplank and John Daly/J.B. Holmes.
“Ian’s been playing great; I’ve had a good year,” Johnson said. “Our games, I think they fit very well together. We found out [during the round] we both read putts very similar. That helps a lot, especially in a format like this.”
In modified alternate-shot, both players hit tee shots, then pick their best option and play alternate-shot from there. The player whose drive was discarded plays the second shot.
Stricker/Kelly turned in a hot streak midway through their round, when they birdied seven of eight holes from Nos. 8-15. That got them to 10-under, but two poor drives put them in a bind at the par-4 17th.
“This is a format where you can lose the tournament,” Kelly said. “What we did from the drive on in, I thought it was pretty impressive. And we didn’t separate ourselves.”
Two other duos nearly joined the parade. Mark Calcavecchia and Shootout rookie Jeff Overton eagled their first hole on the way to a 64, tied with the Champions Tour pairing of Fred Funk and Kenny Perry.
Saturday will be played under a better-ball format, counting the better score on each hole. Sunday is a scramble, allowing both players to hit from the more advantageous spot on each shot.
In the Shootout’s previous 21 editions, nobody has won after trailing by more than one shot on the first day. “I guess that makes it even more crucial to have a good round to start,” Johnson said.
Poulter teamed last year with fellow Englishman Ross Fisher and in 2008 with future U.S. Open champ Graeme McDowell. Johnson drew Steve Flesch for his debut last year. Though tournament host Greg Norman frequently mixed golfers from different nationalities, they are just the fifth U.S.-Europe pairing in the past 12 years.
Poulter and Johnson weren’t drawn against each other at September’s Ryder Cup, though both men said it wouldn’t matter.
“During the week, we might not like each other as much as we do now,” Johnson said. “But on Sunday night [after the Cup], it’s done with. We’re still friends and we have a good time.”
Read Jeff Shain’s golf blog, The Downswing, at OrlandoSentinel.com/golfblog and e-mail him at jshain@orlandosentinel.com.
PGA Golf Betting – Johnson and Poulter Duo to Beat
Dec 10th
This week’s duo to beat in PGA golf betting action is Dustin Johnson and Ian Poulter. You say it’s a duo? That’s right; they are part of the Shark Shootout, which involves teams of two golfers apiece going after big money and raising a lot of money for charity. The tournament, which is not part of the official PGA Tour, starts on Friday at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, FL, and runs through Sunday. In the PGA golf betting odds, Johnson and Poulter are the favored team, at +300.
PGA Golf Betting
Shark Shootout
December 10-12
Tiburon Golf Club
Naples, FL
TV Schedule
(all times Eastern)
Friday — Golf Channel: 3-6 PM, 8-11 PM
Saturday — NBC: 4-6 PM
Sunday — NBC: 3-6 PM
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One thing that can certainly be said is that Dustin Johnson and Ian Poulter have been winners on the tour this year. They are also very highly ranked, and Johnson gives his team the advantage of having one of the longest drives in the business, which may explain part of the reason they are the favorites in PGA golf betting. Johnson averaged 308.5 yards, which was third best on tour, and that comes in handy when you are in best ball formats.
PGA Golf Betting Odds To Win Shark Shootout
Johnson / Poulter +300
Fowler / Watson +500
Kelly / Stricker +650
Clarke / McDowell +700
Leonard / Verplank +750
Choi / Weir +1000
Day / Sabbatini +1000
Calcavecchia / Overton +1000
DiMarco / Kim +1500
Funk / Perry +1500
Kuchar / Norman +1800
Duval / Love +1800
Dustin Johnson and Ian Poulter are two highly-ranked players who are paired up as the favorites for this event at +300 in the PGA golf betting odds. Johnson is the 13th-ranked player in the world and a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Poulter, who is 14th, was with Europe’s Ryder Cup squad. Johnson, all of 26 years of age, was under the spotlight quite a lot this year, due in no small measure to his meltdowns at both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. But after that disastrous PGA, he came back a few weeks later to win the BMW Championship. Poulter excelled in a match play situation this year when he won the Accenture Match Play Championship, which was part of the World Golf Championships.
One of the players Greg Norman has tabbed as perhaps Australia’s best hope to achieve success in major championships is Jason Day, a long hitter (15th on the Tour in driving distance) who won this year’s Byron Nelson Championship and tied for second at the Deutsche Bank Championship, part of the FedEx Cup playoffs, which helped him finish eighth on the points list. Day’s partner will be Rory Sabbatini, the South African who has seen his world ranking plummet from a high of 11th in 2007 to 94th as we speak. It’s not that it’s been so awful for Sabbatini, who finished second at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and fifth at The Barclays, and he did win last year’s Byron Nelson, but he’s not had a banner year. The Day-Sabbatini duo is +1000 in PGA golf betting to win the Shootout.
