Ian Poulter Claims Final Masters Invitation

The 42-year-old Englishman was rewarded for his determination Sunday by winning the Houston Open and becoming the final player to earn an invitation to the first major of the year at Augusta National Golf Club.

The Houston Open has a unique place on the PGA Tour calendar as the final opportunity for a golfer who isn’t already in the field at the Masters to receive a coveted invitation. Poulter became the fifth player in six years to qualify for Augusta National by winning in Houston.

Poulter survived a back-nine surge by Beau Hossler to win with a par on the first playoff hole against the 23-year-old Californian who was Jordan Spieth’s teammate at the University of Texas.

Poulter shot 69 for a 19-under-par 269 total. He forced the playoff by making a clutch 18-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole after Hossler narrowly missed a birdie attempt that would have clinched a victory.

Ian Poulter pounds his chest after making a putt to force a playoff at the Houston Open (Getty Images)

“I had a good read obviously,” Poulter said. “Beau hit a good putt. I thought he holed it.
“I had to dig deep today.”

All Poulter needed on the playoff hole was a routine two-putt par after Hossler hit his third shot into a water hazard.
Spieth, the 2015 Masters winner, shot a final-round 66 and tied for third at 16-under par with Emiliano Grillo, who shot 68.

The Masters has been Poulter’s goal for weeks. He missed his chance a week earlier by being eliminated from the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in the quarterfinal round. Needing to reach the semifinals to reach the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking – another of the qualifying standards – Poulter was soundly beaten 8-and-6 by Kevin Kisner. The defeat moved Poulter to No. 51 in the OWGR and just shy of a Masters invite.

Afterwards, Poulter said he wasn’t even sure he would continue his quest by playing in Houston. And once he did decide to play, it didn’t appear like he would be around long. He opened with 73, was sitting in 123rd and packing his bags for an early departure.

Then it happened. Poulter shot 64-65 and moved into a share of the lead with Hossler and closed the deal Sunday.

After Saturday’s third round, Poulter insisted he wasn’t going to talk about the Masters or anything to do with that, that his sole focus was on playing another good round of golf and seeing where that left him.

“Last week was painful,” Poulter said. “To come here this week I was tired, I was frustrated, I didn’t play my best stuff. I was packed to leave Friday. Just a mental switch today, just said go play golf. See what happens. I was patient. I waited my time.
“This is amazing. I haven’t won a stroke-play event in the United States. To do it this week, after the disappointment of last week, to know I’m going to Augusta, to do it in true fashion, is amazing.”

Poulter is credited with two earlier victories on the PGA Tour, at the 2010 Accenture Match Play Championship and the 2012 HSBC Champions in China. Poulter has 13 European Tour wins.

Poulter has played in the Masters 12 times since 2004 with three top-10 finishes: T10 in 2010, 7th in 2012 and T6 in 2016. His best finish in a major championship is a runner-up at the British Open in 2008.

D.A. Points (2013), Matt Jones (2014), Jim Herman (2016) and Russell Henley (2017) are the others who have advanced to the Masters since 2013 by winning in Houston.

Source: Masters.com

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