Ian Poulter
The Aggressor
Ian Poulter’s tension packed performance at the 2012 Ryder Cup, followed by his WGC-HSBC Champions win at Mission Hills and a robust defence of his Australian Masters title around a firm and fast Kingston Heath on the Melbourne Sandbelt affirmed his place in the upper echelond of world golf. That was last year.
In 2013, Poulter has chosen his tournaments and time away carefully and has stepped up to the level true champions have displayed for generation: he performs well when it matters most or when he’s hungry to prove a point.
In three appearances in the US through the WGC-Cadillac Championship, Poulter had two top-10 finishes, including a fourth place at the WGC-Accenture Match Play but for all his Ryder Cup and match play exploits, Poulter is major-less and winless in a 72-hole stroke play event on American soil.
Being the competitor that he is, deep down, that must irk and fuel a desire to prove that he is as good as he shows year in, year out in team events.
The energised atmosphere on a Sunday among the Georgia pines is right up Poulter’s ally, he just needs to get into position to in the mix on Sunday and the juices will surely flow. He will come into The Masters as an underdog behind the usual suspects, and while there are certainly more impressive ball strikers there is no better clutch putter (anchored or otherwise) and no better exponent of the short game.
At the age 37 and in the peak of his career, what better time and place could there be for Poulter to break his duck than at Augusta National?
