Ian Poulter has confirmed that he will play in next week’s British Masters, along with a blockbuster field, with hopes of continuing his good form in this comeback year with a taste of victory.
The 12-time European winner joins 2017 tournament host and friend Lee Westwood at the maiden venue of Close House, Colt course in Northumberland.
The Englishman is just another impressive name added to the list which also boasts, Masters champion Sergio Garcia, defending champion Alex Noren and former world number one Rory McIlroy.
Poulter hosted the British Masters at Woburn in 2015 when the tournament made a ‘hugely successful’ return to the European Tour season after a seven-year absence.
A dominant Ryder player, Poulter, was limited to just 13 starts in 2015-16 due to a foot injury which sidetracked his 2016 campaign and forced him to miss last years Masters’ at The Grove.
So far this season he has made all 10 cuts on the European Tour, including his best finish of T9 at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open.
On the other side of the world, the Englishman has replicated this success, after keeping his PGA Tour card in unusual circumstances, he has taken full advantage of his playing rights finishing 52nd in the FedEx Cup.
He kickstarted his comeback at the Players Championship in May, finishing runner-up, before adding five top-40 finishes along with a solo third at the RBC Canadian Open.
This good form has also been clear to see in the 2017 major season with a T14 place at Royal Birkdale for the 146th Open and he narrowly missed out on a top-twenty finish at Quail Hollow.
PGA Tour STATS:
- 2 Top-10 finishes in 2017
- $2,098,346: Official tournament money
- 3rd: Strokes gained around the tee (0.501)
- 13th: Strokes gained approach-the-green (0.573)
- 11th: Sand save percentage (59.29%)
- 283.5 Yards: Driving distance
- 20th: Scoring average (70.045)
- 18th: Putts per round (28.44)
A three-time runner-up at the British Masters, most recently five strokes behind fellow host Lee Westwood, Poulter is aiming to rejoin the winner’s circle:
“I’m really looking forward to coming back to Britain next week and playing in the British Masters again,” said Poulter.
It’s a tournament I’ve always enjoyed and I’ve played well in it too, so hopefully that will continue at Close House.
“Lee has done a great job this time around, with a really strong field, so it should be a great week.”
“I had some good performances over the summer, including on British soil, and the game has mostly felt pretty good this year.”
Clearly I’d love to get a win before the season finishes and the British Masters would obviously be a special place for it to happen.
Other late additions to the field at Close House are Spanish showman Miguel Angel Jimenez, Scotland’s Russell Knox and Ireland’s Shane Lowry.
British stars Tyrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Ross Fisher, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Andrew “Beef” Johnston, Danny Willett, Andy Sullivan and Chris Wood are already up to the challenge at next week’s tournament.
