Ian Poulter
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight: 189 lb (86 kg; 13.5 st)
Birthday: 10 January 1976
College: –
Turned Pro: 1995
Birthplace: Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England, UK
Country: England
Sponsor: IJP Design, Mutual of Omaha, Titleist, Nikon, EA Sports, MasterCard, Oakley, Fathead, Audemars Piguet, Marquis Jet.
Poulter is an English golfer who was born in 1976. Poulter’s father played golf, and introduced his son to the game when he was just four years old. Poulter’s older brother Danny also plays golf professionally. Poulter couldn’t secure a position as a professional at a private club, so he undertook the role of assistant professional and golf shop manager at the Chesfield Downs Golf Club. His boss insisted that he paid a green fee if he wanted to participate in any competitions, so Poulter didn’t get any competition play.
After turning professional in 1996, Poulter won for the first time at the Open de Côte d'Ivoire in 1999, on the Challenge Tour. The same year he gained promotion to the European Tour, at qualifying school. Poulter had a successful start to his European Tour career. He won the Italian Open in his first year on tour, and was named Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year. Poulter achieved at least one win in each of the next four seasons. Over the next eleven years he finished in the Top 10 of the Order of Merit on seven occasions. This included a second place finish in 2013.
During this successful time on the European Tour, Poulter was also part of the winning European Ryder Cup team in 2004. As a result, Poulter qualified to play on the PGA Tour for the following season.
It was February 2010 before Poulter won his first tournament in the US, at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona. As a result of this win Poulter moved to 5th place in the World Rankings. This position earned him a place on the European Ryder Cup team for 2010. The team won the tournament, and Poulter went on to secure his own second win of the year, at the UBS Hong Kong Open.
Two years later Poulter was again chosen for the European Ryder Cup team. He played a major role in the team’s victory, winning all of the four matches he played. In the same year, Poulter won his second World Golf Championship event, the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shenzhen, China. As of mid- 2015, Poulter has yet to win a tour event that is non WGC.
On the course, Poulter has attracted much attention for his dress sense over the years. He has an unusual sense of style, including the trousers he won at the 2005 and 2006 Open Championships, which featured a design made up of the claret jug. Poulter also caused controversy when he wore an Arsenal football club shirt on the course. Wearing football jerseys has now been banned after the creation of revised golfing rules.
Poulter is no stranger to controversy. In 2008 he stated, during an interview, that once he reached his full golfing potential, there would only be him and Tiger Woods in competition. This was followed, in 2010, by the controversial Englishman tweeting images of him and his children eating cereal out of the Ryder Cup.
Away from golf, Poulter is a family man. He is married to Katie, and the couple has four children. The family lives in Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida, and also has a home in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, in the UK.
As of the end of 2014, Poulter had achieved two wins on the PGA Tour, amassing total prize money of $15,960,788.
