Ian Poulter Beats the Odds, Qualifies for the Masters

It was only one week ago that Ian Poulter was devastated after believing that he had made the Masters only to find out he came up just short. Poulter wasn’t deterred, however, doing exactly what he needed to do to earn a spot in the first major of the year.

Poulter was playing in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play last week and was told at one point that he had done enough to get into The Masters. Later, he was told he needed to win one more match play game in order to earn a birth in the Masters field. Poulter then went out and lost badly to Kevin Kisner. That left him needing to win the Houston Open this weekend to earn his spot.

Knowing that he needed to win the tournament after so much heartbreak put a ton of pressure on Poulter to perform and he did not disappoint. Poulter gutted out a strong performance in Houston, and buried a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th to force a playoff with with Beau Hossler.

Ian Poulter’s clutch putt to force playoff at Houston Open

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He then carried that momentum to win on the first playoff hole, giving Poulter his first professional golf win in over 6 years.

Ian Poulter of England celebrates after winning the Houston Open at…

Ian Poulter of England celebrates after winning the Houston Open at the Golf Club of Houston on the first playoff hole on April 1, 2018 in Humble, Texas. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

After the emotional win, Poulter explained his feelings heading into the week. “Last week was painful, and to come here this week, I was tired, I was frustrated on Thursday, I didn’t play my best stuff,” Poulter said. “I packed my bags obviously to leave on Friday, and, a mental switch, I said to Jamie today, you know what, let’s just go play golf, see what happens.”

The improbable win has given Poulter the final spot in the Masters field that he thought he already had last week. It’s been a long grind for Poulter to get back to this point, after he was stripped of his PGA TOUR card not even two years ago. For the 42-year old to show so much fight to get back to prominence, it’s a truly remarkable story that all players should take note of.

Coming off that emotional win, Poulter will look to ride the wave to his first major victory and his first Green Jacket. And that victory would just be icing on the cake for the Englishman who has already fought so hard to get back to this point.

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