59? You Scot to be kidding
Poulter admits Morikawa’s victory made him feel old but insists there’s plenty of life left in him, Tiger & Co
IAN POULTER has insisted there is life in the old guard yet as he claimed forty-something stars can still compete for the Majors.
The Ryder Cup star, 44, admitted that Collin Morikawa’s win at the US PGA at the age of 23 “makes me feel really old.”
And a new generation of golfers, including Viktor Hovland and Matt Wolff, promise to be superstars. But Tiger Woods, 44, won the Masters last year and Paul Casey, 43, was runnerup in San Francisco.
And Poulter, who finished tied for 22nd at the US PGA, said: “I know I can still compete with the young blood and that is exciting. I don’t want to be irrelevant. Just because you are 40-plus it doesn’t mean to say you are finished. It probably just means you are not going to be in as contention as much as you used to be. But when you are in contention, there is a chance you’ll win.
“You don’t have to hit the ball 320-340 yards. You just need the whole package. It is not all about how far. When you have got your game, there is absolutely no reason why you can’t compete with the new generation of kids.”
Florida-based Poulter is playing at the Northern Trust in Boston this week as he bids to qualify for the season-end Tour Championship for the first time.
And the world No.56 is happy to play in the US Open in New York next month despite Covid-19 fears that have triggered withdrawals from the tennis equivalent.
“How many positive tests have there been in the last month on the PGA Tour?” Poulter asked. “This is a travelling circus where 150 guys and 150 caddies travel to venues on a weekly basis and I think we have done an incredible job. I don’t think there has been enough praise for how well everyone has done on both tours when other sports have struggled. I can’t speak for tennis but we are getting tested every week and we have really had so few cases that I feel really happy.
“I am comfortable going on the road and playing the US Open.
“My life can’t stop just because of the situation we’re in, so I think we’ve just got to be sensible, and I’m happy to travel.”
■ Ian Poulter was speaking ahead of the launch of 2K’s new PGA Tour 2K21 game, which is out on now for PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch and Google Stadia. He is one of 12 PGA Tour pros that players can compete against to become the FedEx Cup Champion. Find out more at www.pgatour.2k.com.”
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER carded a superb 59 to take the clubhouse lead at the Northern Trust as Tommy Fleetwood dropped away. The American world No.45 (above) collected 12 birdies to become the 12th player on the PGA Tour to shoot a sub-60 round. Scheffler, who moved to 13 under par, said: “You don’t get a putt for 59 very often so I was pretty nervous.” Fleetwood shot a two-under 69 in Boston to sit six shots behind Scheffler.