Ian Poulter was a tad irritated to learn on Saturday that, despite what media members told him after he topped Louis Oosthuizen in his morning contest at last week’s WGC-Match Play, he actually had not yet qualified for the Masters.
Ian Poulter has one more chance to qualify for the Masters
If Poulter wins in Houston this week he’ll be the 88th player to qualify for the Masters, which will field the fewest number of players since Tiger Woods won his first green jacket in 1997.
Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Instead of entering the afternoon quarterfinals with a guaranteed tee time at Augusta, the match play ninja still had to defeat Kevin Kisner to make it into the top 50 in the world rankings and earn a spot in what is shaping up to be the smallest Masters field in 21 years.
Poulter was not amused and proceeded to get trounced by Kisner, 8 and 6.
“I guess I should never listen to other people. When you finish a round of golf and the press and everybody telling you you’re in the Masters, and then you get a text message 10 minutes before you tee off to correct everybody, to say, ‘Oh, we’ve made a mistake, actually, no, that was wrong, you’re not in. You need to go and win.’ Not that that’s an excuse or any form or factor, it’s a little disappointing,” Poulter told reporters after his lopsided loss to the eventual match play runner-up.
“I asked three times, four times, ‘Are you sure, are you sure, are you sure?’” added Poulter, who said he was assured he was “definitely in” only to find out he was definitely not in. “So next time I won’t listen to other people. I’ll do my bit and focus better.”
Turns out all is not lost for the 42-year-old 51st-ranked player in the world, who has a chance to focus better and become the 87th golfer in this year’s tournament with a victory this week at the Houston Open. With reigning U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka informing Masters officials on Monday that his nagging left wrist injury forced him to withdraw from the men’s first major of the season, and with four other players inside the top 50 added to the roster, this year’s Masters will have the smallest field since 1997, when Tiger Woods romped to a 12-shot win over 85 other contenders.
Poulter, who will compete with the likes of Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson, and Henrik Stenson, was not sure he would even enter the fray in Texas.
“I haven’t decided. I’m tired. It’s been a long week. It’s been a draining week. I don’t know,” he said. “I’ll wait until Monday night and if I have the energy then I will.”
As of Tuesday morning, Poulter had yet to pull out of the final tourney before the Masters.
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