Stop tweeting and start winning, Faldo warns Poulter
BRUCE CRITCHLEY is not the only television commentator who thinks Ian Poulter is being led astray, with too many distractions in his life to play his best golf. Poulter was abrasively dismissive of Critchley’s belief last week, but here’s a similar opinion from someone it won’t be so easy to disregard.
Sir Nick Faldo has always been a Poulter fan, as evidenced by the wildcard he gave him to play in the 2008 Ryder Cup. Poulter would regard him as a friend. Now, however, Faldo believes the time has come to show Poulter some tough love.
‘Poults has just got too much going on, in my view,’ said Sir Nick, during a chat in Arizona last week. ‘He’s got the house in Orlando, which has taken 2.4 years to build and he must have lost a fortune on given the way the market has gone. He and his wife have just had their fourth child. He’s got the worry of keeping his clothing company afloat and then there’s the fact he’s always tweeting like crazy.
‘I watched him on the practice ground at the Accenture last week and there he was, bouncing away and tweeting furiously instead of putting in some quality time on his game. Was it any wonder he was all over the place, his f eet f l ying everywhere, and lost heavily in the first round? He’s supposed to be the matchplay specialist. But you can’t be that without putting quality time in on the range.’
Poulter won his final event in Australia last year but has been slow out of the gate this time. ‘I’m hoping he will be shocked by how he has started the season,’ said Faldo. ‘If he wants advice from the caring NF (Nick Faldo), it would be to end his tweeting obsession and put in that quality time.’
Will he tell Poulter face to face? ‘I don’t feel that is my place, it’s only my opinion,’ he said, before adding a wry rejoinder. ‘In any case, he will read it in your column and no doubt tweet his disapproval.’
Let’s hope Poulter takes it in the constructive spirit Faldo intended instead.