Breakthrough close at hand
Hossler, Poulter top leader board entering today’s final round
Englishman Ian Poulter has been golfing professionally since 1995, the year PGA Tour rookie Beau Hossler was born in Southern California. So they are, to be sure, at very different places in their respective careers. But the high stakes — and the pressure — will be the same for each Sunday as they attempt breakthroughs in the Houston Open that will come with a splendid ancillary benefit, a tee time in the Masters four days later.
They’re the co-leaders, two strokes removed from the rest of the field, at the Golf Club of Houston, having both bested par by 14 shots through 54 holes for a 202 total. But 10 guys are within two swings at a place where the final 18 holes routinely brings upheaval. Although neither Poulter and Hossler have much experience with same because this is only Poulter’s third Houston Open and just Hossler’s second, they seem familiar with the local history.
This isn’t match play. There’s way more to worry about than each other, or the Masters.
“Not thinking about it, not talking about it,” Poulter said. “There are a lot of ifs and butts. I’m going out there and have some fun tomorrow.”
Easy to say, of course, but harder to do.
Coming in a little while later after having dramatically seized a half-share of the lead by sinking a 7½foot birdie putt on 18, Hossler suggested daydreaming about Augusta “is only going to get me into trouble.” Therefore, he said, I’m just going to try to play one quality shot at a time. I know it’s a cliché. But today I did that. It was a patient round for me, which I needed. I didn’t look ahead at all and I felt good about the result.
“It’s a very bunched leader board," he added, "with so many good players right there. I think it’s going to be a dogfight.”
Four players from four countries are tied for third place and each also needs to conquer Houston to take on the challenges Augusta presents. Australian Greg Chalmers matched Poulter swing-for-swing with a 65 to get to 12 under, where he’s tied with another young American, Kevin Tway — if the name is familiar, it’s because his dad, Bob, once won the PGA Championship — Ireland’s Paul Dunne and Argentine Emiliano Grillo. Grillo fashioned a 67, while Tway and Dunne each posted 69s.
Texan Jordan Spieth, fourth in the World Golf Rankings, is tied for 13th, four strokes back at 10-under after a 71. Eighthranked Rickie Fowler, who partnered with Hossler in the final group, was briefly in the lead by his lonesome when he dipped to 13 under, but a disastrous triple bogey on the par-5 13th hole knocked him way off the rails.
However, Fowler composed himself and parred in from there to stay within five swings of Poulter and Rossler, hardly an unheard-of deficit to overcome on Sunday afternoons in greater Humble.
Poulter, whose 64 Friday had been the low score of the second round, has beaten par by 16 strokes over his last 40 bogey-free holes after a bumpy start. He played the first 13 Thursday two-over en route to a 73 that had him “packing my bags” because he anticipated missing the cut.
He had arrived in a funk after a disappointing semifinals showing in the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play tournament last weekend in Austin, where media members told him that reaching the quarters had already assured him of a top-50 world ranking, and that would have secured his Masters berth before the cut-off date.
But, just before he teed off, PGA officials informed him he’d been victimized by fake news. In truth, he needed to reach the final. It rattled him so badly he wound up losing 8-and-6 to Kevin Kisner, leaving him stuck at 51st in the rankings, on the outside looking in and “a little warm under the collar.” His expectations of traveling from Texas to Georgia with the $1.26 million Houston champion’s check were low, to say the least.
“Some people were getting in my head space, which is never good,” Poulter said. Yeah, maybe I was a bit angry on Thursday. Maybe I was kind of forcing, trying to force my way into (the Masters). That didn’t work, so I had to re-think it. I kind of had to flow the cobwebs out, reset and go again.”
Asked if his rounds of 64 and 65 ranked among the best back-to-back efforts of his long tenure of touring professionally, he replied: “From a putting standpoint, yes, absolutely.”
He credited his nearmagical touch on these greens, which has gotten him “into a position like I’m in today,” with “a simple little fix like opening the shoulders.” It permitted him to “see the right line.” Hopefully, he said, “I’ve found the key. I need to write it down and, when it’s not there, I need to read it.”
Poulter and Hossler find themselves on the cusp of winning their first official stroke-play PGA Tour events, although that’s sort of a technicality in the former’s case because a title he claimed in China in 2012 counts as a win, even if the prize money didn’t go on his record . He also has a North American match-play championship plus more than a dozen titles on the European tour.
"I’ll be nervous like I always am (because) I’ve learned at each stage I’ve played, from junior golf to amateur golf to now playing professional golf that winning tournaments is difficult,” Hossler said. “It takes a level of comfortability. There’s a learning curve and I’ve been fortunate to have some opportunities, where I’ve been in that last group. Today was probably the best that I’ve felt.”