Poults out to go one better

By Mark Garrod, Press Association Sport Golf Correspondent Last updated: 8th July 2009

Ian Poulter, Open champion. For a short while at Birkdale last year it looked as if it could really happen.

Ian Poulter, Open champion. For a short while at Birkdale last year it looked as if it could really happen.

The 33-year-old had been big news at the Open before, but that was for Union Jack trousers and other extrovert outfits rather than his game.

Now his golf had become the story.

Poulter had never had an adrenalin rush like the one that accompanied the huge roar from the crowd when he drew level with Padraig Harrington by sinking an 18-footer for birdie on the 16th.

Half an hour later there was an even bigger one when his closing 15-foot par putt dropped into the hole.

Who knows what might have happened if he had not missed a much shorter putt at the 13th or three-putted the long 17th for par?

As it was, defending champion Harrington responded to the Englishman's challenge with two birdies and an unforgettable eagle. In the end his four-stroke winning margin looked comfortable.

It left Poulter as the runner-up, but it also left him being looked at in a new light.

Here was the proof he needed that all things were now possible and two months later at the Ryder Cup he responded to the pressure of being handed a wild card in preference to Darren Clarke with four wins out of five.

People might still consider him flash, but no longer a flash in the pan and if he gets into contention at Turnberry nobody will be dismissing his chances.

And he actually left Birkdale with one victory under his belt.

Heading to his car he challenged his six-year-old daughter Aimee-Leigh and four-year-old son Luke to a race and when he won it he threw up his arms and danced around.

His assessment of his earlier, marginally less successful display was full of positives about what the future might hold.

"There's plenty more in me and I know I can go better," he said.

"It was a great buzz around the whole back nine. The crowd were absolutely awesome, driving me on. And to start holing putts and hear everybody screaming and shouting is a massive boost.

"I'll be back for lots more.

"I should have finished a couple more under par, which was a little bit frustrating. Perhaps it might have pushed Paddy a little bit harder, but hats off to him - going back to back is pretty impressive. That hasn't been done that often."

However, despite not having finished higher than ninth in any previous major, Poulter still did not rank his performance as the pinnacle of his career.

"No, it's all about winning," he added.

"I finished second and I'm not going to hold that as high as some of my wins.

"You don't strive to finish second and that's what will make me practise harder and harder."

Not that he can do much more work on his putting than he did going into last year's Open.

For six hours on the Monday he stood in one spot on the practice green and his footprints from the session were visible the whole week.

Officials even had words with him about it.

"They were not very happy - you wouldn't have wanted to putt through it.

"But it would have been nice to cut them out and taken the little piece back home and laid it in the garden if we had won.

"Unfortunately we didn't, but it nearly worked, didn't it?"

Poulter had the mickey taken out of him early last year for suggesting that once he was on the top of his game he could be the closest challenger to Tiger Woods.

He has still to make the top 10, let alone second, in the rankings, but finishing runner-up to Henrik Stenson at the Players Championship in Florida in May was another feather in his cap.

And he believes he has found one of the secrets of contending in the biggest tournaments.

"I've been pressing too hard in major golf tournaments, but sometimes it's all about just getting in position and finding yourself in the situation I did.

"That was just through playing smart golf, clever golf, hitting the right side of pins, not taking silly shots on.

"I think that I can take a lot of experience out of that. You see the world's best players do that - they don't have to go out and lead after day one and day two.

"They're around the number come Sunday afternoon and that's what I felt I did. I just stayed patient and took a few opportunities when I could."

Poulter is determined not to let Birkdale be the closest he ever came to a major.

Mark Garrod, Press Association Sport Golf Correspondent