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Ian Poulter ended an uncomfortable 14 month wait for a first professional win since the Madrid Open last September with victory at the Dunlop Pheonix tournament in Japan.
The Woburn touring professional went head-to-head with compatriot Luke Donald – whose own title drought has stretched to over 19 months – for the title, with defending champion Padraig Harrington also in the mix. Poulter began the final day with a two-stroke lead but playing partner Donald pulled level after six only to double-bogey two holes later to wreck his hopes.
Poulter wasn't caught over the final 10 holes and, although he three-putted to drop a shot at 11, he sank a 40-foot putt from the fringe to save par at the next before birdieing the 14th to tighten his grip.
A last round 68 helped Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano clinch second, some three shots short of Poulter’s 11-under-par total, while Donald shared third with local favourite Shingo Katayama. The victory marked the ninth of Poulter’s career and his first outside Europe. It also lifted the 31-year-old in to the top 20 of the world rankings for the first time, where he joins fellow Englishmen Justin Rose and Donald, with Casey lurking at number 21 and Ireland’s Open Champion Harrington – who finished in fifth alongside American Brandt Snedeker in Japan – placed seventh in the rankings.
Poulter said: “I was very aware this was the last stroke play event of the year. It's a lovely feeling to win again.
“I felt comfortable all week. It would be nice to know exactly why because if you could do that every week, you could get into that winning position every week.”  |
