Ian Poulter made a five (par for the hole) at the 18th of Coco Beach on Saturday after ‘trying to go for it’ and extend his lead in the Puerto Rico Open. The Englishman this week missed the WGC-Dell Match Play as an alternate and has brought his attacking style to Puerto Rico instead.
‘It was always going to be a tough challenge, a bittersweet week for me. Getting here on Wednesday wasn’t the best preparation, but we had other stuff on our mind,’ he said.
On Saturday he left the 18th with a round of 68, but smacked his putter before thanking the crowd. Poulter’s lead is a force of will at the moment, the kind that won him the 2010 WGC-Accenture Match Play and the 2011 Volvo World Match Play Championship.
Nowadays his news comes in the form of tweets, with the Ferrari fan garnering two million followers on the social media platform. He’s determined to get back to winning ways.
‘My emphasis is on the golf course, and hopefully I’ve got to know it well enough over the last three rounds that tomorrow will be a decent day. Keep persevering, keep working on the swing, and hopefully tomorrow the adrenalin will kick in and get me over the finish line,’ he said.
South African Thomas Aiken climbed 20 spots on the leaderboard with a Saturday round of 70 that included a 33-stroke front nine. He’ll be itching to earn some FedEx Cup points in his debut season on the PGA Tour.
Dean Burmester made the weekend in his first PGA Tour start and on Saturday he shot 75, slipping to 51st. Sunday will be a learning experience for Burmester, who should be satisfied with playing four rounds in a PGA Tour event. There will be more opportunities to follow for the promising Zimbabwean, who ranks 87th in the world.
