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Ian Poulter
Personal information
Full name	Ian James Poulter
Born	(1976-01-10) 10 January 1976 (age 48) Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England, UK
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	189 lb (86 kg; 13.5 st)
Sporting nationality	England
Residence	Orlando, Florida, U.S. Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
Career
Turned professional	1995
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour (joined 2005) European Tour (joined 2000)
Professional wins	15
Highest ranking	5 (21 February 2010)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	1
European Tour	11
Japan Golf Tour	1
Asian Tour	2
PGA Tour of Australasia	1
Challenge Tour	1
Other	1
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	7th: 2012
PGA Championship	T3: 2012
U.S. Open	T12: 2006
The Open Championship	2nd: 2008
Achievements and awards
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year 2000

Ian James Poulter (born 10 January 1976) is an English professional golfer who is a member of the world's top two professional golf tours, the U.S.-based PGA Tour and the European Tour. He has previously been rated as high as #5 in the world rankings. He is the touring professional for Woburn Golf and Country Club.

Early career

Born in Hitchin, Poulter took up the game at the age of four when his single-handicap father, Terry, gave him a cut-down 3-wood. His older brother Danny is also a professional golfer. Unable to get a place as a pro at a private club, he became the assistant pro and golf shop manager at the Chesfield Downs Golf Club. There he was forced by his boss to pay a full green fee every time he wanted to play in a competition. His handicap hence stayed at four, because he did not play in competitions.

Professional career

Poulter turned professional in 1996 gaining his first win at the 1999 Open de Côte d'Ivoire on the European Tour's second tier Challenge Tour; he won promotion to the European Tour itself via the qualifying school later that year. In his first season, he claimed the Italian Open title and was the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year for 2000. Further wins followed in each of the next four seasons, most prestigiously the season ending "tour championship" the Volvo Masters in 2004. He was in the top ten on the Order of Merit in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2009. In 2010, he finished 4th on the Order of Merit, his highest placing so far. After narrowly missing a place in the 2002 European Ryder Cup team, Poulter was a member of the victorious squad in 2004, where he officially scored the winning points for his team. This entitled him to take up membership of the PGA Tour in 2005, and he has divided his time between the two tours since then.

At the 2008 Masters Tournament, Poulter made a hole-in-one at the 16th hole at Augusta National in the first round. At the 2008 Open Championship, Poulter had the clubhouse lead on the last round before being beaten by defending champion Pádraig Harrington. In the 2008 Ryder Cup, Poulter was the highest points scorer on either side as he scored 4 of Europe's 11.5 points. Europe lost the Ryder Cup 16.5-11.5.

In the 2009 Players Championship, he finished in sole possession of second place at eight under-par, four shots behind the winner, Henrik Stenson. In November 2009, Poulter won the Barclays Singapore Open at the Sentosa Club. He moved into the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking in January 2010 with a second place finish at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.

In February 2010, he won his first tournament on U.S. soil, beating fellow Englishman Paul Casey 4&2 in the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona. The win moved him to 5th in the world rankings. His ranking gained Poulter a place in the 2010 Ryder Cup in September at Celtic Manor in Wales He won 3 points in the 4 matches he played in the European team's win by 14.5 points to 13.5. In November 2010, he won his second title of the year with a one-stroke victory in the UBS Hong Kong Open.

On 23 February 2011, in Marana, Arizona, Poulter became the first defending champion in nine years to be eliminated in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. He did however enjoy greater success in the European Tour's own match play event, the Volvo World Match Play Championship where he won the title beating Ryder Cup teammate Luke Donald, 2&1, in the final. He had previously beaten the world number one Lee Westwood, Francesco Molinari and Nicolas Colsaerts to get to the final. This was Poulter's second tournament win in a match play event and eleventh European Tour victory. As a result of his win Poulter moved up from 22nd to 14th in the Official World Golf Ranking. . Poulter was one José María Olazábal's two "captains picks" for the European Team at the 2012 Ryder Cup. He won all the 4 matches he played over the three days of the event, and was a key figure in sparking his team's victory by 14.5 points to 13.5.

Clothing

Poulter is well known for his eccentric dress sense, inspired by his mother who managed the Letchworth branch of UK women's fashion chain Dorothy Perkins. His most famous pieces include trousers featuring the famous Claret Jug, worn at both the 2005 and 2006 Open Championships. Commentating for the BBC, Seve Ballesteros jibed that this was "the closest would ever get to it".

He is an avid fan of football club Arsenal. He has on several occasions appeared with the team's crest on his shoes, and he even controversially wore the team's shirt during an event, gaining widespread ire for flying in the face of golfing tradition (immediately after the event the rule was changed to stop future players wearing football jerseys). In addition to his golfing career, Poulter launched Ian Poulter Design (IJP) in 2007.

Controversy

At the Mercedes-Benz Championship in September 2007, Poulter smashed a tee marker in a show of frustration and was fined. Also, in 2006 Poulter paid a £5,000 fine after verbally abusing a marshal at the Irish Open.

In the March issue of Golf World (UK) in 2008, Poulter was quoted saying "Don't get me wrong, I really respect every professional golfer, but I know I haven't played to my full potential and when that happens, it will be just me and Tiger."

Following the European Team's loss in the 2008 Ryder Cup, Poulter accused Anthony Kim, who was on the American team, of body checking him in the middle of a match, which Kim denied and said it was an accident.

In April 2010, Poulter was strongly rebuked for using an anti-Semitic slur in one of his Twitter posts. He has since apologised.

In October 2010, Poulter tweeted videos of him with the Ryder Cup trophy at his Florida home, including a video of him and his children eating cereal out of the trophy sparking controversy.

Personal life

Poulter is married to Katie; the couple have four children, and live in Orlando, Florida. The couple also have a home in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

Poulter is an avid car collector, and along with his 2008 purchase of a Ford GT, he has a Bentley Continental GT, a Ferrari California, and has owned a Ferrari, Nissan Skyline and an Aston Martin DB9. As of December 2011 Poulter has 1.23 million followers on Twitter, which is the second most on the PGA Tour to Tiger Woods with 1.55 million followers.

Sponsorships

Poulter currently has an endorsement with the following companies: Puma Golf, Mutual of Omaha, Titleist, Cobra, EA Sports, MasterCard, Oakley, Fathead, Audemars Piguet, Marquis Jet.

Professional wins (15)

PGA Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	21 Feb 2010	WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship	4 and 2		Paul Casey

European Tour wins (11)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	29 Oct 2000	Italian Open	−21 (66-67-65-69=267)	1 stroke	Gordon Brand, Jnr
2	15 Apr 2001	Moroccan Open	−15 (71-67-69-70=277)	2 strokes	David Lynn
3	3 Nov 2002	Italian Open	−19 (61-67-69=197)	2 strokes	Paul Lawrie
4	1 Jun 2003	Celtic Manor Resort Wales Open	−18 (65-67-68-70=270)	3 strokes	Darren Fichardt, Jonathan Lomas, Jarrod Moseley
5	10 Aug 2003	Nordic Open	−22 (68-67-65-66=266)	1 stroke	Colin Montgomerie
6	31 Oct 2004	Volvo Masters Andalucia	−7 (71-67-69-70=277)	Playoff	Sergio García
7	17 Sep 2006	XXXII Banco Madrid Valle Romano Open de Madrid Golf Masters	−22 (67-66-64-69=266)	5 strokes	Ignacio Garrido
8	1 Nov 2009	Barclays Singapore Open (co-sanctioned with Asian Tour)	−10 (66-64-72-72=274)	1 stroke	Liang Wen-chong
9	21 Feb 2010	WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship	4 and 2		Paul Casey
10	21 Nov 2010	UBS Hong Kong Open (co-sanctioned with Asian Tour)	−22 (67-60-64-67=258)	1 stroke	Simon Dyson, Matteo Manassero
11	22 May 2011	Volvo World Match Play Championship	2 and 1		Luke Donald

Challenge Tour wins (1)

• 1999 Open de Côte d'Ivoire

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

• 2007 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament

Asian Tour wins (2)

• 2009 Barclays Singapore Open (co-sanctioned by the European Tour)
• 2010 UBS Hong Kong Open (co-sanctioned by the European Tour)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

• 2011 JBWere Masters

Other wins (1)

• 2010 The Shark Shootout (with Dustin Johnson)

Results in major championships

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

• Starts – 40
• Wins – 0
• 2nd place finishes – 1
• Top 3 finishes – 2
• Top 5 finishes – 2
• Top 10 finishes – 6
• Top 25 finishes – 15
• Missed cuts – 6
• Most consecutive cuts made – 7
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2

World Golf Championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
2010	WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship	n/a	4 & 2	n/a	Paul Casey

Results timeline

Cancelled due to 9/11
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No Tournament
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances

• Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 2004 (winners), 2008, 2010 (winners), 2012 (winners)
• World Cup (representing England): 2001, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011
• Seve Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2003 (winners), 2005 (winners), 2011 (winners)

See also

• Golfers with most European Tour wins

References

1. "Week 08 2010 Ending 21 Feb 2010" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
2. "Woburn Golf Club – Ian Poulter". Retrieved 4 June 2012.
3. "PGA Tour profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
4. ^ "Ian Poulter: Dandy of the fairways aims to end British fashion for failure". London: The Independent. 13 July 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
5. Colin Montgomerie is widely credited as having holed the winning putt, although Ian Poulter birdied on the 15th hole of his match to guarantee a half point and so mathematically win the Ryder Cup seconds before Montgomerie. This was commentated on by course commentators and BBC Radio 5 Live, whose Golf correspondent Ian Coulter recalled in the News of the World: "My editor said Poulter was three up seconds before Monty hit his putt. Then Colin's putt went in - you can imagine the situation. To have over-ruled his achievement would have been like trying to deny Alan Shearer a goal that went in off a defender." "This man won us Ryder Cup - not Monty" News of the World (London); Sep 26, 2004; Geoff Sweet; p. 75. Frank Keating of The Guardian also noted this chain of events, writing "radio logged the fact that it was not Montgomerie's putt which actually clinched the cup but Poulter's, a matter of seconds before and a few holes behind." "Golf, Cricket: Notes from the touchline" The Guardian (Manchester); Sep 24, 2004; Frank Keating; p. 34. Notwithstanding, Poulter was still in a Dormie position at this time (3 holes up with 3 to play) and players in this position can still be disqualified and thus lose their match. A similar situation took place 2 years later.
6. "Poulter secures Singapore title". BBC Sport. 1 November 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
7. Martin Kaymer Climbs To World Number 6 With Win In Abu Dhabi And Bill Haas Wins The Bob Hope Classic - Official World Golf Ranking, Week 4, 2010
8. "Poulter defeats Casey to win World Match Play title". BBC Sport. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
9. Ian Poulter Wins The WGC-Accenture Match Play And Jumps To A Career High World Number Five - Official World Golf Ranking, 2010, Week 8
10. "Ian Poulter wins Hong Kong open by one stroke". BBC Sport. 21 November 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
11. "Ian Poulter defeats Luke Donald for Volvo World Match Play win". European Tour. 22 May 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
12. "Ryder Cup 2012: Europe beat USA after record comeback". BBC Sport. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
13. "My Arsenal - Ian Talk about His Passion For The Game". 1 August 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
14. "Angel Cabreras Argentinian Steakout Means Nothing To Arsenal Fan Ian Poulter". Daily Mail. London. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
15. Poulter wants to close book on controversy | Mail Online
16. "Anthony Kim Explains Why He 'Body-Checked' Ian Poulter During Ryder Cup"
17. "Anger At Ian Poulters Yid Web Slur". The Sun. London. 16 April 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
18. Ian Poulter eats cereal from Ryder Cup
19. "Jeff Rude to check out his Orlando Florida home". Golf Week TV. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
20. European Tour biography
21. "Fifth Gear - Ford GT Ian Poulter". Fifth Gear. September 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
22. Icon Sports Management profile

External links

• Official website
• Ian Poulter's IJP Design
• Ian Poulter at the European Tour official site
• Ian Poulter at the PGA Tour official site
• Ian Poulter at the Japan Golf Tour official site
• Ian Poulter at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
• Ian Poulter on Twitter

Ian Poulter in the Ryder Cup

v t e European Ryder Cup team – 2004 Paul Casey Darren Clarke Luke Donald Sergio García Pádraig Harrington David Howell Miguel Ángel Jiménez Thomas Levet Paul McGinley Colin Montgomerie Ian Poulter Lee Westwood Bernhard Langer (non-playing captain) Won: 18.5 – 9.5 v t e European Ryder Cup team – 2008 Paul Casey Sergio García Søren Hansen Pádraig Harrington Miguel Ángel Jiménez Robert Karlsson Graeme McDowell Ian Poulter Justin Rose Henrik Stenson Lee Westwood Oliver Wilson Nick Faldo (non-playing captain) Lost: 11.5 – 16.5 v t e European Ryder Cup team – 2010 Luke Donald Ross Fisher Peter Hanson Pádraig Harrington Miguel Ángel Jiménez Martin Kaymer Graeme McDowell Rory McIlroy Edoardo Molinari Francesco Molinari Ian Poulter Lee Westwood Colin Montgomerie (non-playing captain) Won: 14.5 – 13.5 v t e European Ryder Cup team – 2012 Nicolas Colsaerts Luke Donald Sergio García Peter Hanson Martin Kaymer Paul Lawrie Graeme McDowell Rory McIlroy Francesco Molinari Ian Poulter Justin Rose Lee Westwood José María Olazábal (non-playing captain) Won: 14.5 – 13.5

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• English golfers
• European Tour golfers
• PGA Tour golfers
• Ryder Cup competitors for Europe
• People from Hitchin
• People from Milton Keynes
• English expatriates in the United States
• 1976 births
• Living people