PGA Tour: Ian Poulter contending at Workday Charity Open
By Tim Letcher
Ian Poulter is in contention again on the PGA Tour. Can he take advantage at the Workday Charity Open, or will this be another wasted opportunity
Ian Poulter finds himself in contention again this week on the PGA Tour. After Friday’s round at the Workday Charity Open, Poulter, like the rest of the field, is chasing leader Collin Morikawa.
For Poulter, it has been two solid days of golf so far at Muirfield Village. On Thursday, he opened with a 4-under par round of 68, leaving him three shots behind Morikawa after 18 holes.
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Friday’s round for Poulter was fairly consistent the whole way through. He opened on the front side and was able to par each of the first four holes. On the par-5 fifth hole, the easiest hole on the course, Poulter made birdie to get to 1-under on the day.
The Englishman would par the sixth hole before taking advantage of the other par-5 on the front nine. Poulter birdied the seventh hole, getting to 2-under par for Friday’s round.
However, that momentum was short-lived
Poulter hit his tee shot into the sand on the par-3 seventh hole. He blasted out to about 19 feet and missed his par putt. He made his first bogey of the day to fall back to 1-under par, which is where he would finish his first nine holes.
Poulter opened his back nine with a par on the 10th hole, but then he really got things going. He would birdie he 11th, 12th and 13th holes in a row to quickly get to 4-under par on his round.
Pars at the 14th, 15th and 16th holes kept him at 4-under. However, he was undone by a bunker again, this time on the 17th hole. That bunker play would force him into a bogey, dropping him back to 3-under par. That’s where Poulter would finish his Friday round.
He finds himself six shots back of Morikawa at the moment, but this still has to be considered a positive for Poulter. He entered this week at 105th in the FedEx Cup standings despite making the cut in every event he has played this season.
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Poulter’s problem has not been making cuts. It has been not taking advantage of opportunities on the weekend. For example, at the RBC Heritage, Poulter was tied for the lead after one day, only to see it all slip away on the weekend. He would ultimately finish in a tie for 14th, his second-best finish of the season so far.
He now finds himself in the mix for his first top 10 of the season, and perhaps his first top five. Now, he must take advantage of the opportunity rather than see it fade away on the weekend.