Rory McIlroy isn’t the only international player who plans to cut back his schedule in 2013.
Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter, who turns 37 next month, told Reuters on Sunday: “I have got to a stage in my career where playing 26 weeks a year is probably too much. So I’m going to look to cut a few tournaments out next season.”
The Englishman, who lives outside Orlando, Fla., said that he expects to begin his season at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, then “take five or six weeks off straight after that.”
It has been a taxing few months for Poulter, who was an integral part of Europe’s comeback victory at Medinah. A month later, he won his second World Golf Championships event (WGC-HSBC Champions) but admittedly left little in reserve for his final two starts of the season, the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai and last week’s World Challenge, where he finished 17th in the 18-man field.
“I put myself in a situation this week where, to be honest, I’m kind of spent,” Poulter said, according to the report. “My body was just telling me, and I was making stupid mistakes. The first two days I was tired on the golf course, and obviously it (jetlag) takes its toll out of you. It’s hard to get it exactly right.
“There are so many good tournaments around the world, and I would love to play all of them, but unfortunately we can’t. You have to look at it, plan it and try and play where you know you can perform.”