GULLANE, Scotland – When Ian Poulter went to sleep late Saturday his chances of rallying after a poor putting week and winning his first major at the Open Championship seemed slim. But there was a chance.
“It’s hard to go to bed last night and, alright I’m eight back, what do I need to do to get into this?” Poulter said. “I knew I had to make birdies.”
In a torrid stretch from the fifth to the 12th on Sunday he certainly did better than that. The Englishman played those holes in 6 under par – including an eagle at the ninth – to move to within two strokes of the lead at the 142nd Open Championship.
Poulter played his final six holes in 1 over for a closing 67 to take the clubhouse lead at 1 over par.
Now comes the hard part, the wait. Poulter finished at 4:04 p.m. (GMT) and had at least two hours to await his fate and prepare for a possible playoff.
“I’m not having a beer just yet,” Poulter said.