Poulter rides 'great buzz' to highest major finish
SOUTHPORT, England -- It was meant as a joke, actually.
But with Ian Poulter, you never know.
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| Ian Poulter sends the crowd into a frenzy with his long putt on 16. (AP) |
Might make a good belt buckle, eh, laddie?
"Yeah, a big WWF one," he said.
Actually, Poulter had already finished wrestling for the day, thank you, making a serious run at eventual winner Padraig Harrington before finishing four shots back in second at Royal Birkdale, his best finish at a major championship.
After starting the day six shots behind, Poulter shot 69 and briefly held a share of the lead before the Irishman played the last four holes in 3 under to wrap up his second consecutive Open title.
Poulter, continually chided in England for his apparel and extrovert persona, was hardly crushed by the runner-up position. It greatly improved his chances of making the European Ryder Cup team for the second time, which has been his major objective all year.
Not to mention that his previous best at a major was ninth.
"He's gone out there and done his stuff around the back nine," Poulter said of Harrington's back-nine 32. "He's played incredible. It's a hell of a performance, what can you say? Back-to-back Opens hasn't been done that often, so it's pretty impressive."
It hasn't been done by a European in more than a century, actually. Poulter, who grew up perhaps 170 miles away, nearly derailed the effort. The partisan British fans surely noticed that he was making something happen, of course.
"You know, it was a great buzz around the whole back nine," he said. "I don't think I've enjoyed a week as much as I have this week. It's on home soil, the crowd has been absolutely awesome, they've been driving me on.
"The chants have been awesome out on the golf course. To start holing putts around the back nine, to hear everybody screaming and shouting and driving you on is a massive adrenaline rush, it's a massive boost."
A guy could get used to it, he grinned.
"You know, I've done my best, and it hasn't quite been good enough," he said. "But I'll be back for lots more of this. It's a nice roller-coaster ride."
When they spoke at the awards presentation, Harrington made sure to mention that Poulter made a leap up the Ryder points list, which had hardly escaped Poulter's notice.
"I've certainly put myself right back in the picture," he said. "There's been a lot of talk this year. I haven't achieved what I should have achieved this year so far, and I said at the start of the week it's amazing what one week can do to your whole year.
"Let's hope that this will springboard me on to have a massive push over the next few weeks before the Ryder Cup gets picked. You know what, I want to make this side. I've made it clear from Day 1. It was great to be in it four years ago. I want to be on that side."
