Ian Poulter more or less saved his skin on the PGA Tour by tying for second place at the 2017 PLAYERS. It won’t be as big of a surprise to see him contend this year.
He’s already a winner on Tour this year at Houston, so he won’t be burdened by playing for his card this time. The Englishman’s played great this season, accumulating four top-10s.
He tied for seventh in his last start at the RBC Heritage, which was his sixth week of competition in a row. Poulter smartly took three weeks off heading into this week.
“I enjoy the golf course. I enjoy the test. I enjoy some of the tee shots which capture your attention,” Poulter said in 2009. “You have to step up and hit a decent tee shot at certain times, you know, I enjoy playing under pressure.”
He’s made 11 of 14 cuts at the PLAYERS with a runner-up finish in 2009 to go with his T2 last year.
Poulter is 18th on Tour in strokes gained approaching-the-green and has been deadly inside 150 yards this season.
He should be fine off the tee and around the greens at Sawgrass; it’ll be all about the putter.