Ian Poulter: biography
Ian James Poulter is a professional golfer from England, a member of the world's top two professional golf tours such as the U.S.-based PGA Tour and the European Tour. Due to his excellent skills, he has got the 5th place in the world rankings.
Childhood and youth
The future golf star was born on January 10, 1976, in Hitchin, England. He was brought up by his single-handicap father, Terry. His dad was a golfer; he introduced this kind of sport to Ian when he was 4. Their family is a golf dynasty – Ian's brother Danny also became a professional golf player.
Being a college student, Ian worked in a shop: he sold shirts to pay for pieces of training. The boy was known for diligence and effort and at last, was recognized as one of the best English players.
He showed professionality in a local championship in 1995. Sports experts began noticing his unique, bold style of playing.
Professional golf career
His first winning championship was in 1999 - he won at the 1999 Open de Côte d'Ivoire on the European Tour's second tier Challenge Tour. Also, in the same year, the player got promotion to the European Tour.
In his first playing season, Ian managed to win the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year for 2000. The success literally chased after him: the sportsman was in the top ten on the Order of Merit in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2012.
In 2002 and 2004 Poulter took part in the European Ryder Cup and scored high results for his team. Due to his brilliant game, Pulter earned the PGA card and was allowed to take part in the PGA Tour in 2005.
Performing at the 2008 Masters Tournament, Ian Poulter showed a hole-in-one at the 16th hole at Augusta National – many athletes could only dream about this trick. At the 2008 Open Championship, the player got to the finals where he was defeated by defending champion Pádraig Harrington. As a participant of the Ryder Cup, Ian scored 4 of Europes 11.5 points and set the Ryder Cup Record of points.
In 2009 Poulter took part in the Players Championship where everybody emphasized his skills: so, he got the second place at eight-under-par, four shots behind the winner, Henrik Stenson.
In November 2009, Poulter became the winner of the Barclays Singapore Open at the Sentosa Club. In January 2010, the player was included in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking after finishing second at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.
One month later, Poulter won the USA Tournament for the first time in his career. He defeated the opposer - English player Paul Casey with easiness. As a result, he took fifth place in the world rankings. In September 2010, playing at Celtic Manor (a spa&hotel resort) in Wales, Ian made 2 points in 4 matches. In November 2010, he again got the title of player of the year due to victory in the UBS Hong Kong Open.
On February 23, 2011, Poulter was named a defending champion of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. In his own match of the European Tour, the player made astonishing results: in the final game, he beat his former colleague Luke Donald with the score 2-1 and got the winner title.
Earlier he managed to defeat professional number one players such as Lee Westwood, Francesco Molinari, and Nicolas Colsaerts and got to the finals – so, it was his second victory of the tournament and eleventh European Tour victory.
Ian performed as a head of the European team at the Ryder Cup in 2011. He won 4 matches of 4, and his playing was the main reason for his team's victory with 14,5 points.
On November 4, 2011, Ian Poulter succeeded to win the second World Golf Championship in Shenzhen, China – it was his second World Championship victory. He made four strokes and won the other two opposers. As a result, the player was recognized as the second player from Europe who had won several WGC tournaments. Due to the victory, Poulter got the 15th place in prestigious rankings.
In 2015 Ian took part in the 2015 Honda Classic on the PGA Tour. He had all the opportunities to win, but the opposers turned out to be severe. So, he was beaten in the final round by Pádraig Harrington.
At the same year, he had some problems: so, got only the 51st place in the OWGR (Official World Golf Ranking). Ian couldn't take part in the IAN Hong Kong Open. Also, he risked losing his European Tour card cause he played only in 12 matches including one lost. However, the player entered the Hong Kong Open several months later when Rich Beem denied his sponsor exemption to allow Poulter to join.
In March 2016, Poulter won the alternative season of the PGA Tour in Puerto Rico. His result was the best in the season.
In February 2016, Ian Poulter injured his knee and left the upcoming Ryder Cup on June, 3. However, three days later captain Darren Clarke called him one of his vice-captains for the match.
At the beginning of the season, 2016-2017 Poulter underwent a medical examination and was allowed to save his tour card. In 2017, the player got the right to take part in the 2017 Players Championship.
In 2018 Ian played at the WGC-Match Play 2018 intending to get to the quarterfinals to be included in the top-50 in the World Golf Rankings. Later the judges announced that they would have included him there only if he had managed to win in the semifinals. Unfortunately, Ian lost – his opposer Kevin Kisler beat him.
Several weeks later, the sportsman won the Houston Open and was subsequently called the PGA Tour winner. In the last game of the season, he defeated Beau Hossler. Having got to the playoff, Ian won – it was his first victory in 6 years on any tour. Due to it, he got a place in the Masters 2018 as the final player where he faced the Tiger Woods.
In September 2018, Ian Poulter got the title of a captain's pick for the European team which took place in the 2018 Ryder Cup. Due to him, the club defeated the United States team in the match held in Paris, France.
Player's current net worth is evaluated at $60 million.
Clothing
Ian Poulter has a unique clothing style which he learned from his mother – a former manager of the Letchworth branch of UK women's fashion chain.
He also owns a clothing business. So, he launched Ian Poulter Design (IJP Design) in 2007. As a clothing sponsor, he created several famous works such as the tartan golf trousers with printed Claret Jug which players wore at the 2005 and 2006 Open Championships, gold shirts, American pants flag.
Ian is a big fan of football club Arsenal. Once the media noticed him wear the shoes with the team's crest.
Personal life
Ian is married. He met his wife Katie in 1995, and they tied the knot in 2007. They got acquainted when the woman worked as a nurse. The couple is included in the list of the longest standing couples of the PGA Tour.
Nowadays the spouses live in their own house in Florida. Sportsmen Graeme McDowell, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, and several other PGA Tour players live on the same site.
The couple has 4 children: Aimee-Leigh, Luke, Lily-Mai and Joshua. Two of them were born before their marriage; two were born after they got married.
Sponsorship
In his career, the player has signed sponsorship contracts with such firms as Coolsculpting, IJP Design, Titleist, Nikon, EA Sports, MasterCard, Oakley, Fathead, Audemars Piguet, and Marquis Jet.
Interesting facts
Ian Poulter is an avid car collector, his dogs are named Enzo and Bentley. Mr. Poulter owns such cars as Ford GT, a Bentley Continental GT, and a Ferrari California. The Ferrari FF, or Ferrari Four, is the first four-wheel drive, a four-door vehicle produced by Ferrari, and was unveiled in March of 2011. It is the fastest four-door vehicle in the world and can go from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) in 3.7 seconds.
In 2015 the player's haters created a Twitter profile called “Gay Ian Poulter” which was to humiliate Ian, to make fun of him. However, soon the account was blocked and all its followers were deleted from the page.
There are popular YouTube videos called “Putting tips,” “Swing sequence,” “Shank” and “Trick Shot Challenge” where he gives the bits of advice and shows how to play golf right.
Awards and achievements
The golfer took part in many championships and won several of them. So, his career earnings include the victory in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship 2011. Also, he became the winner of the World Golf Championships two times. Moreover, the player has recorded a considerable amount of PGA wins.
