HUMBLE, Texas – Ian Poulter delivered another big instant Sunday, this one for himself.
Down to his last putt, Poulter made a 20-foot birdie on the 18th hole to push a playoff with Beau Hossler, and then he won the Houston Open with a par on the 1st extra hole to earn the final spot in the Masters.
One week after Poulter was wrongly told he had locked up an area at Augusta National through the entire world ranking, he left no doubt simply by winning with a clutch moment similar to his Ryder Cup heroics through Medinah in 2012.
“I had to dig deep today, inch said Poulter, who closed using a 5-under 67.
Hossler, who also shot 67, changed a three-shot deficit with 4 straight birdies on the back 9. He had a chance to win on the eighteenth in regulation with a 30-foot birdie putt that trickled over the correct edge of the cup.
That set the stage intended for Poulter, and the 42-year-old from Britain lived up to his nickname because “The Postman” by delivering their biggest putt in years. Poulter pounded his chest five occasions when the putt dropped, and all Hossler could do was smile.
In the sudden-death playoff to the 18th, one of the more daunting finishing openings off the tee with water over the left side and a bunker towards the right, Hossler found the bunker for the second time. He strike into a greenside bunker, and his 3rd shot caught way too much ball plus went over the green and to the water.
Poulter has been safely on the green as Hossler took his penalty drop, damaged onto the green and required two putts for a triple bogey.
They finished from 19-under 269.
Poulter won for the third time for the PGA Tour, and his first in the usa since the Match Play in 2010 in Arizona. This was his first stroke-play victory in America, and the timing cannot have been better.
Whenever he reached the quarterfinals from the Dell Technologies Match Play final weekend in Austin, he was informed that it was enough to get him in to the top 50 in the world ranking right at the end of the weekend, the cutoff designed for qualifying for the Masters.
It turned out he needed to win their quarterfinal match, and Poulter has been informed of the mistake before this individual teed off. Kevin Kisner defeat him, 8 and 6.
Poulter was so dissatisfied that he contemplated not even going to Houston, and when he opened with a 73 in a first round of reduced scoring, he packed his luggage and prepared to go home to Fl the next day. Instead, he bounced back again with a 64, and shot 65-67 on the weekend.
“Last week was painful, ” this individual said. “To come here immediately, I was tired. I was frustrated upon Thursday…. I was patient. I anxiously waited my time. And this is incredible. ”
It was their first victory since the HSBC Winners, a World Golf Championship event in Mission Hills in China this year. That was a month after Poulter directed Europe to a stunning turnaround within the Ryder Cup by making five directly birdies to win a fourballs match and give Europe momentum in order to overcome a four-point deficit.
Along with going to the Masters, Poulter cracks the top 30 in the world and today is in good shape to be eligible for all of those other majors. He also has a two-year exemption, critical because he nearly dropped his card a year ago until he or she was spared by a clerical mistake by the tour.
Hossler did everything right until the playoff. His four straight birdies incorporated a 30-footer on the par-3 fourteenth to tie for the lead, as well as a wedge that settled 4 foot below the hole that provided him the lead with 3 to play.
Jordan Spieth closed with a 66 and linked for third with Emiliano Grillo (68), giving Spieth momentum for that Masters. It was Spieth’s best complete against a full field since he or she tied for second in the Dell Technologies Championship outside Boston within September.
“Goal achieved for the week, ” Spieth mentioned. “I’ve made some big advances from my last couple competitions. I’m very excited for exactly what next week holds. “
