Ian Poulter was in a particular hurry in the first round of the Players Championship on the PGA Tour. Due to the thunderstorm interruptions, the round could not be played to the end. But Poulter, who was already on his last few holes, didn’t want to get up at the crack of dawn on Friday just to finish one more hole and then wait who knows how long. So speed was the order of the day.
Players Championship: Darkness gets players going
Players use this strategy from time to time. The reason for this is that once a player has teed off on a hole, the hole may be finished if the round is interrupted due to darkness, should the players wish to do so. The situation is different if the round is interrupted due to thunderstorms. Because of the dangerous situation, players have no choice.
The speed did not harm the Ryder Cupper. Almost it would have been two birdies to finish. After winning the stroke on 17, he almost holed a chip from 15 yards for birdie on 18, but the ball stayed less than 20 inches from the hole. He eventually holed it for a round of 73.
It’s actually not the first time Poulter has rushed the final holes at TPC Sawgrass, either. There were similar images at the 2011 Players Championship: