Ryder Cup winning hero Ian Poulter was livid with himself after being knocked out of the historic Volvo World Match-Play Championship in Bulgaria.
Poutler, winner also of the event two years ago, lost both his round robin matches including going down on day two to South African Thomas Aiken ranked 87 places higher on the World Rankings that the No. 15 ranked Englishman.
Poulter, winner as well of the 2010 WGC – Accenture World Match Play title and a player who has never lost a Ryder Cup Singles match in his four appearances, had little answer to Aiken who won the first two holes with birdies and from thereon was never headed.
Ian Poulter on route to being bundled out of Bulgaria – losing both matches in the Volvo World Match-Play Championship. (Photo – Eoin Clarke/www.golffile.ie)
Aiken went 2up after birding the first two holes and while Poulter got back to all square at the ninth, the South African won the 10th and 12th holes before losing 15 and 16 to Poulter birdies.
However Poulter missed the fairway at the last sending his drive down the adjoining fourth hole and while finding the back of the green with his second he walked off with a bogey to Aiken’s par.
“I have no excuses,” said Poulter after arriving in Bulgaria having missed the cut in his past two events, the Players Championship and the Masters.
“There is no excuse for that display of golf over the last two days. It’s disgusting, disgraceful and there’s no explanation. I should have been able to finish the match off.
“My concentration was simply not there and therefore you make mental errors when you have not used your brain. It’s completely unacceptable.”
When asked what was next install, Poulter responded: “The tallest tree with the shortest rope. I am p***** off. I will stay p***** off for a couple of hours and then get to England and win at Wentworth (venue for next week’s BMW PGA Championship).”
Aiken had lost his morning match to Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee while Poulter had lost a day before also to Jaidee but now goes through to the final 16.
“I had two tough matches today with Thongchai this morning and then Ian this afternoon, so it’s been a tiring day but I’m just so pleased to get through to the next round,” said Aiken.
Four players – Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee, Italy’s Francesco Molinari, Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Scotland’s Scott Jamieson – were the only players in the 24-player field to win both their round robin matches.
Fernandez-Castano continued his superb season having defeated Welshman Jamie Donaldson on day one and then accounted for Australia’s Brett Rumford on day two handing the recent back-to-back Tour winner a 3 & 2 defeat.
“It was quite a relaxed match and you could feel Brett was a little tired after playing this morning,” said the Spaniard.
“So overall, I am happy with the result and with my two victories.”
Despite the loss, Rumford kept alive hopes of becoming the first player since Seve Ballesteros in 1986 to win three successive European Tour events after finishing second in his group.
Defending champion, Nicolas Colsaerts avoided a play-off when Thailand’s Kiradeck Aphibarnrat bogeyed the last to hand that saw the reigning Malaysian Open champion square his match with South African Branden Grace.
Had the Thai golfer pared the final hole it would have meant all three players involved in a sudden death play-off.
There was just one play-off to decide the final 16 with Ireland’s Shane Lowry, Sweden’s Peter Hanson and South African George Coetzee playing two extra holes after all three ended the round robin stages with two points.
Lowry then holed an eight-foot putt for birdie at the second extra hole to finish first in the group while Hanson also won through to the last 16 with a par while Coetzee was eliminated on the same hole with a bogey.
Completed third round robin scores Volvo World Match-Play Championship, Thracian Cliffs Golf & Beach Resort, Kavarna, Bulgaria.
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spain) defeated Brett Rumford (Australia) 3 & 2
Scott Jamieson (Scotland) defeated Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark) 5 & 3
Felipe Aguilar (Chile) defeated Henrik Stenson (Sweden) 3 & 1
Branden Grace (South Africa) all square with Kiradeck Aphibarnrat (Thailand)
Shane Lowry (Ireland) defeated Peter Hanson (Sweden) 4 up
Thomas Aiken (South Africa) defeated Ian Poulter (England) 1 hole
Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland) defeated Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) 4 & 2.
- Three players – Shane Lowry, Peter Hanson and George Coetzee were involved in a sudden-death play-off for two places. Lowry birdied second extra hole to finish first in his group. Hanson then pared the hole to also go through to last 16. Coetzee was eliminated with a bogey.
Draw for last 16 – Saturday morning Bulgarian time. Eight winners to advance to afternoon quarter-finals.
Branden Grace (South Africa) –v- Brett Rumford (Australia)
Richard Sterne (South Africa) –v- Chris Wood (England)
Francesco Molinari (Italy) –v- Carl Pettersson (Sweden)
Shane Lowry (Ireland) -v- Thomas Aiken (South Africa)
Scott Jamieson (Scotland) –v- Felipe Aguilar (Chile)
Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) –v- Peter Hanson (Sweden)
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spain) –v- Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium)
Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland) –v- Bo Van Pelt (USA)
