Ian Poulter rebounds from ‘low, down’ to contender at The Open at Royal Birkdale

Ian Poulter could not have imagined back in April, when his playing career hit rock bottom, that he would be in contention for his first major championship title just three months later at The Open.

But after a second-round 70 at Royal Birkdale following his best-ever opening round in a major (67), the Englishman more notorious for his flamboyant couture and expensive cars than his prowess in any of golf’s four most prestigious events enters the weekend squarely in the thick of things, just three shots off the sizzling 6-under (65-69) pace of 18- and 36-hole leader Jordan Spieth.

Indeed, Poulter’s T3 standing after battling the wind and rain on the English coast on Friday marks only the second time in 16 starts at the British Open that he will tee off on Saturday inside the top 10 (he was ninth after two rounds in 2002 at Muirfield).

Pundits are making much of the remarkable round-two comeback that Rory McIlroy made after getting off to a horrid, 5-over start through six holes on Thursday. But a Poulter victory, though highly improbable given the likes of multiple-major winners Spieth, McIlroy, and Bubba Watson populating the top of the leaderboard, would make for a much more dramatic story of sports redemption.

Ranked 184th in the world to start the year due largely to a foot injury that restricted him to just 12 PGA Tour starts in 2016, Poulter dropped to 195th after missing the cut at the Valero Texas Open in April. It was a dark time for the outspoken Brit, whose major medical extension afforded him 10 tourneys in 2017 to earn sufficient FedEx Cup points and on-course earnings to keep full playing privileges on tour.

“I was low. I was down. I was not happy playing golf,” Poulter told reporters Friday. “And obviously things just multiply when you’re in that situation.”

It was only after another player on a major medical extension, Brian Gay, discovered and informed officials about a quirk in the tour’s points-distribution restructuring that Poulter learned he had a second chance on the links. He immediately went out and finished in a tie for second at The Players Championship.

Poulter still had to play a 36-hole qualifier to make it into this week’s Open and he is clearly enjoying every moment in the limelight and ready to mix it up with some of the world’s best for the Claret Jug.

“I’m loving it. I really am,” he gushed. “This is a massive bonus for me to be in this position [after qualifying for the Open]. I haven’t played a major for a little while and I can’t wait. I’m excited. I’m pumped up. I feel my game’s coming back to form.

“So, yeah, I mean I’m ready to go out there toe to toe with anyone this weekend.”

Even if the two-time tour winner is unable to pull off an extremely unlikely victory this week, at least one member of the Poulter clan is already a winner. Ian’s son Luke took some cash from John Daly’s son, John Jr., after beating him in an eight-hole contest at a nearby track after Thursday’s opening round of the Open.

The proud papa bragged on Thursday night to his Twitter followers about his offspring’s W.

On Friday, after noting that younger Poulter needled Little John about his triumph, Ian the Elder joked that Luke did not inherit such braggadocio from him.

”I’m not sure [where Luke learned such behavior],” Poulter said with a laugh. “It must be his mother.”