Poulter’s victory also propels him toward Augusta
Ian Poulter delivered another big moment Sunday, this one for himself.
Down to his last putt, Poulter made a 20-foot birdie on the 18th hole to force a playoff with Beau Hossler, and then he won the Houston Open in Humble, Texas, with a par on the first extra hole to earn the last spot in the Masters.
One week after Poulter was mistakenly told he had locked up a spot at Augusta National through the world ranking, he left no doubt by winning with a clutch moment reminiscent of his Ryder Cup performance at Medinah in 2012.
“I had to dig deep today,” said Poulter, who closed with a 5-under-par 67.
Hossler, who also shot 67, overcame a three-shot deficit with four straight birdies on the back nine. He had a chance to win on the 18th in regulation with a 30-foot birdie putt that trickled over the right edge of the cup.
That set the stage for Poulter, and the 42-year-old from England lived up to his nickname as “The Postman” by delivering his biggest putt in years. Poulter pounded his chest five times when the putt dropped, and all Hossler could do was smile.
In the sudden-death playoff on the 18th, one of the more daunting finishing holes off the tee with water down the left side and a bunker to the right, Hossler found the bunker for the second time. He hit into a greenside bunker, and his third shot caught way too much ball and went over the green and into the water.
Poulter was safely on the green as Hossler took his penalty drop, chipped onto the green and took two putts for a triple bogey. They finished at 19-under 269.
Poulter won for the third time on the PGA Tour, and his first in America since the Match Play in 2010 at Arizona.
When he reached the quarterfinals of the Dell Technologies Match Play the previous weekend in Austin, Texas, he was told that it was enough to get him into the top 50 in the world ranking by the end of the weekend, the cutoff for qualifying for the Masters.
It turned out he needed to win his quarterfinal match, and Poulter was informed of the mistake before he teed off. Kevin Kisner beat him, 8 and 6.
Poulter was so disappointed that he contemplated not even going to Houston, and when he opened with a 73 in a first round of low scoring, he packed his bags and prepared to go home to Florida the next day. Instead, he bounced back with a 64, and shot 65-67 on the weekend. LPGA: Inbee Park and Pernilla Lindberg played until it was too dark to see — and still couldn’t decide the ANA Inspiration. They’ll return to Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage (Riverside County) on Monday morning for the fifth extra hole in the LPGA Tour’s first major of the season.
Jennifer Song dropped out with a par on the third playoff hole, and Park and Lindberg decided to take one more trip down the par-5 18th in fading light.
With portable lights and the scoreboard helping illuminate the green, Park made a 6-foot par putt and Lindberg made a short putt to match. They finished at 7:21 p.m., 15 minutes after sunset.