The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Poulter, Hossler tied with Masters at stake
Ian Poulter HUMBLE, TEXAS — has played in the Masters a dozen times, never missing the cut. Beau Hossler has never played a competitive round at Augusta National.
Both are in position to become the last man in the Masters field, and neither wants to think about it.
The 42-year-old Poulter surged into a share of the lead at the Houston Open on Saturday with a 7-under 65, and Hossler, a 23-yearold PGA Tour rookie from the University of Texas, matched him at 14-under 202 after he holed a 7-footer for birdie on the par-4 18th to shoot 69.
Like all PGA Tour events that offer full FedEx Cup points, the Houston Open title comes with an invitation to next week’s Masters.
“No, not thinking about it, not talking about it,” Poulter said. “I’m going to go out and have some fun tomorrow. There’s a lot of ifs and buts. I’ll have no emotion at all. I’m in a no-lose situation . ... I’ll go do my job.”
Four players were two shots behind Poulter and Hossler — Australian Greg Chalmers (65), Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo (67), American Kevin Tway (69) and Paul Dunne of Ireland (69) — and none of them has a spot at Augusta yet either.
Hossler has popped up on a major leaderboard before — he briefly led the 2012 U.S. Open while still in high school — and he said getting to the Masters would be “as good as it gets.” But he said contemplating that opportunity would only lead to “trouble” today.
Poulter shot 64 on Friday after opening with a 73 that had him packing his bags in anticipation of a missed cut. It was the first time since his last victory in 2012 that he had consecutive rounds of 65 or better on the PGA Tour.
It was a simple putting fix that did the trick for the English veteran renowned for making crucial putts on winning Ryder Cup teams. He opened his shoulders slightly, allowing him to see the lines better, and has played his last 40 holes in 16 under, without a bogey.
Poulter nearly made it into the Masters last week with a run to the quarterfinals at the Dell Technologies Match Play, which improved his world ranking to 51st — just missing the cutoff to move into the top 50.
Making matters worse, he had been told by media members that his quarterfinals appearance would guarantee him enough ranking points. But just before he began his quarterfinal match, officials informed him that he’d need to make the semis.
The news knocked Poulter off his game and he lost badly, 8 and 6, to Kevin Kisner.