Poulter ascends in English revival

MARANA, Ariz. (AP) — Ten years ago this week, England had only two golfers among the top 100 in the world.

It doesn’t take long to find them now.

Lee Westwood, who won the European Tour money title a year ago, remained at No. 4 in the world. Ian Poulter moved up to No. 5 in the ranking published Monday because of his Match Play Championship victory over Paul Casey, who is No. 6.

And they have plenty of company right behind them.

“I just think that there’s been a lot of great talent in England for such a long time,” Poulter said. “And it’s so nice to see guys actually deliver on the golf course. We’ve been waiting for a long time.”

Consider the inaugural Match Play Championship at La Costa Resort a dozen years ago. The only Englishmen in the 64-man field were Westwood and Nick Faldo, and neither lasted more than a day — Westwood because he never gets beyond the second round, Faldo because he was the No. 64 seed and played Tiger Woods.

England started with nine players at Dove Mountain and kept the flag flying all week.

The next step is to win a major, which no Englishman has done since Nick Faldo beat Greg Norman in the 1996 Masters.

Westwood has come close each of the last two years, missing putts on the 72nd hole in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines and the British Open at Turnberry that would have put him in a playoff. Casey started the final round of the 2004 Masters only two shots behind, but couldn’t keep pace with Phil Mickelson or Ernie Els on the last day.

Poulter was the runner-up at Royal Birkdale two years ago, and while he was four shots behind, he stood over a 15-foot par putt on the final hole believing it might decide the tournament because of the windy conditions. And he made it.

That was the year Poulter was so determined to improve his putting that he stayed in one spot for hours on the practice green. He left behind two yellow footprints, because he was there so long that the grass beneath his feet had died.

Poulter may not have the raw skills of Westwood and Casey, or the junior pedigree. But, he is not lacking confidence.

It takes moxie to dress the way he does, and he was known for his wardrobe well before anything he achieved on the golf course.