Ian Poulter's blunder cost him the tournament and almost $600,000
In a year plagued by strange rules infractions, it’s almost fitting that Ian Poulter capped off the year with another one at the Dubai World Championship. On the second playoff hole against Robert Karlsson, Poulter was bending over to replace his ball when he dropped it, causing it to fall and move his “lucky” marker. He was assessed a one-stroke penalty and instead of putting for birdie to force another extra hole, he was going for par and he missed the 40-footer.
Meanwhile, Karlsson only had 3-feet left for birdie, which he easily tapped-in for the win. It was unlikely that Poulter’s gaffe would have changed the outcome, but there was still a chance, especially given Poulter’s mastery on the greens in pressure situations.
“The coin was one way and the next minute facing the other way,” Poulter said. “If it pitches in the middle, the coin doesn’t move and it’s fine, but it’s pitched on the front and it’s flipped over.”
“It was my lucky coin that I made at the start of the year,” he said. “It’s still going to stay lucky.”
Karlsson said after the tournament ended that Poulter had told him of the ruling before they finished the second playoff hole, but he had not been sure the ruling would stand. Regardless, Karlsson’s putt was much shorter.
“These things happen in golf. It’s not the way you want to win,” the 41-year-old Swede said. “The rules are there for a reason but some of them can be tough.”
Poulter earned $833,000 for the runner-up finish, a difference of $417,000 to the first place prize money. If Poulter would have beat Karlsson, he would have finished third on the European Tour money list and received a $750,000 bonus, instead of $600,000 for fourth. So, in the hypothetical situation, Poulter’s blunder might have cost him $567,000 — not that money means as much as a trophy and I doubt that he’s losing any sleep tonight.
Lee Westwood benefited financially from Poulter’s loss and left Dubai $150,000 richer since he managed to stay ahead of Poulter and finish third on the money list.
Poulter’s Twitter pals were quick to see the humor in it all. Rory McIlroy tweeted, “@WestwoodLee Poults may not have won the Dubai world championship, but he could be in with a shout for tiddlywinks world championship!” And new Twitter king Westwood wrote, “Just gave poults a big kiss! He feels better now!” and “If it’s good enough for sparrow legs Dubai tiddlywink champ, it’s good enough for me!”
Poulter took it well: “Receiving a little banter from the boys for my ball drop and doing a flip 1 shot pen, @westwoodlee yes $150,000 extra for staying in front.”
At least Poults leaves Dubai with a new nickname.
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This is a non-issue unless Poulter had hit the 40-footer, or fell a position in final results. Neither happened. Net of the penalty, the outcome would have remained exactly the same.
Exactly, PJ. Karlsson’s birdie won the tournament. The best Poulter could have made on that hole was a par.
True it may not have affected it, but it totally threw Poulters concentration. If he’d not got a penalty and 2 putted for a par, Karlsson’s putt would have been a much bigger pressure putt, as he himself admitted.
At least the punch is easier to take for Poulter, because Karlsson sank the putt. Whatever you think of the guy, it’s still a tough thing to happen.
Hahahaha. TIDDLYWINKS. I bet you Poulter haters are having a field day… I didn’t know there were so many haters among GOLF fans… Who would’ve guessed it???
@PJ — I pointed out the situation, where Poulter had to make a 40-footer for birdie, while Karlsson had a 3-footer for birdie.
“Meanwhile, Karlsson only had 3-feet left for birdie, which he easily tapped-in for the win. It was unlikely that Poulter’s gaffe would have changed the outcome, but there was still a chance, especially given Poulter’s mastery on the greens in pressure situations.”
@kmo — hope you didn’t interpret my post as hating. It was Poulter’s pal that came up with the Tiddlywinks nickname!
@stephanie You gotta love the banter from Lee Westwood on Twitter. He isn’t letting up on Poults!!
@Stephanie – I recognize you pointed out the situation in your article. That said, I still don’t believe that the penalty had any influence on the ultimate outcome, even if it was unlikely. It took Poulter one more swing of the club than Karlsson to put the ball in the hole. I don’t subscribe to the theory that without the rules infraction, Poulter would have had any higher chance of hitting a 40-foot putt, or that Karlsson would miss a 3-footer.
Playing tiddlywinks didn’t cost him a penny – his play did.
In case anyone wants to read the actual rule and decision the ruling was based on.
Rule 20-1 :
If a ball or ball-marker is accidentally moved in the process of lifting the ball under a Rule or marking its position, the ball or ball-marker must be replaced. There is no penalty, provided the movement of the ball or ball-marker is directly attributable to the specific act of marking the position of or lifting the ball. Otherwise, the player incurs a penalty of one stroke under this Rule or Rule 18-2a.
From the USGA Rules and Decisions: 20-1/15
Q. What is meant by the phrase “directly attributable to the specific act” in Rules 20-1 and 20-3a?
A. In Rule 20-1 the phrase means the specific act of placing a ball-marker behind the ball, placing a club to the side of the ball, or lifting the ball such that the player’s hand, the placement of the ball-marker or the club, or the lifting of the ball causes the ball or the ball-marker to move.
In Rule 20-3a the phrase means the specific act of placing or replacing a ball in front of a ball-marker, placing a club to the side of the ball-marker, or lifting the ball-marker such that the player’s hand, the placement of the ball or the club, or the lifting of the ball-marker causes the ball or the ball-marker to move.
Under either Rule, any accidental movement of the ball or the ball-marker which occurs before or after this specific act, such as dropping the ball or ball-marker, regardless of the height from which it was dropped, is not considered to be “directly attributable” and would result in the player incurring a penalty stroke.
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