Ian Poulter

Ian James Poulter (born 10 January 1976) is an English golfer who is a member of the world's top two professional golf tours, the U.S. based PGA Tour and the European Tour. He is the touring professional for Woburn Golf and Country Club which is situiated in Buckinghamshire.

Born in Hitchin, Poulter's first professional win was the Open de Côte d'Ivoire on the European Tour's second tier Challenge Tour in 1999, and he won promotion to the European Tour itself via the Qualifying School later that year. In his first season he claimed the Italian Open title and was the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year for 2000. Further wins followed in each of the next four seasons, most prestigiously the season ending "tour championship" the Volvo Masters in 2004. He was in the top ten on the Order of Merit in 2003, 2004 and 2006.

After narrowly missing a place in the 2002 European Ryder Cup team, Poulter was a member of the victorious squad in 2004, where he officially scored the winning points for his team. This entitled him to take up membership of the PGA Tour in 2005, and he divided his time between the two tours since then. He has featured in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings. He is well known for his often radical dress sense, including trousers featuring the famous Claret Jug, worn at both the 2005 and 2006 Open Championships. Commentating for the BBC, Seve Ballesteros jibed that this was "the closest [Poulter] would ever get to it". He will also often match his sunglasses to his shirt and hat color, in addition to wearing brightly colored and patterned pants.

Poulter is well known for being an avid fan of the London-based football club Arsenal FC. He has on several occasions appeared with the team's crest on his shoes, and he even controversially wore the team's hat during an event (immediately after the event the rule was changed to stop future players wearing football jerseys). He is an avid car collector and along with his new purchase of the Ford GT40, he has owned a Ferrari and a Nissan skyline along with an Aston Martin DB9. At the Mercedes-Benz Championship in September 2007, Poulter smashed a tee marker in a show of frustration and was fined. Also, in 2006 Poulter paid a £5,000 fine after verbally abusing a marshal at the Irish Open.

At the 2008 Masters Tournament, Poulter made a hole-in-one at the 16th hole at Augusta National in the first round. At the 2008 Open Championship, Poulter had the clubhouse lead on the last round before being beaten by defending champion Pádraig Harrington.

In the 2009 version of The Players Championship, Poulter finished in sole possession of second place at eight under-par, four shots behind the winner, Henrik Stenson. In November 2009, Poulter won the Barclays Singapore Open at the Sentosa Club.

Poulter moved into the top-10 of the Official World Golf Rankings in January 2010 with a second place finish at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. In February 2010, he won his first tournament on U.S. soil, beating fellow Englishman Paul Casey 4&2 in the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.

Poulter is married to Katie; the couple have three children, and live in Orlando, Florida. The couple also have a home in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

Poulter is an avid car collector, and along with his 2008 purchase of a Ford GT, he has a Bentley Continental GT, and has owned a Ferrari, Nissan Skyline and an Aston Martin DB9.

Controversy

At the Mercedes-Benz Championship in September 2007, Poulter smashed a tee marker in a show of frustration and was fined. Also, in 2006 Poulter paid a £5,000 fine after verbally abusing a marshal at the Irish Open.

In the March issue of Golf World (UK) Poulter was quoted saying "Don't get me wrong, I really respect every professional golfer, but I know I haven't played to my full potential and when that happens, it will be just me and Tiger."


Clothing

Poulter is well known for his often radical dress sense, inspired by his mother who managed the Letchworth branch of UK women's fashion chain Dorothy Perkins. His most famous pieces include trousers featuring the famous Claret Jug, worn at both the 2005 and 2006 Open Championships. Commentating for the BBC, Seve Ballesteros jibed that this was "the closest Poulter would ever get to it". He will also often match his sunglasses to his shirt and hat colour, in addition to wearing brightly coloured and patterned trousers.

Poulter is well known for being an avid fan of the London-based football club Arsenal FC. He has on several occasions appeared with the team's crest on his shoes, and he even controversially wore the team's shirt during an event (immediately after the event the rule was changed to stop future players wearing football jerseys).

In addition to his golfing career, Poulter launched Ian Poulter Design (IJP) in the summer of 2007.