Ian Poulter was told he was in the Masters before the WGC Match Play quarterfinals; he was not
Masters PGA Tour

Ian Poulter was told he was in the Masters before the WGC Match Play quarterfinals; he was not

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Ian Poulter had won his Round of 16 match against Louis Oosthuizen at the 2018 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. He would take on Kevin Kisner in the quarterfinal round, but he was golden because, as far as he'd been told by the likes of Golf Channel and the European Tour, he had earned enough Official World Golf Ranking points this week to breach the top 50 in the world and get into the 2018 Masters.

The information passed along to him was based on a projection, shared by the world-ranking folks and used by media and the tours to estimate where players will land in the Official World Golf Ranking before a tournament ends and the newest ranking is published. However, whoever was processing those numbers made some kind of error. Poulter was not assured a spot in the top 50 by beating Oosthuizen alone. He had to beat Kisner to get into the top 50 and land a Masters invitation. Poulter learned this just before his Saturday afternoon tee time.

Ian Poulter did not beat Kevin Kisner in their quarterfinal match. In fact, Kisner won in an 8-and-6 thrashing.

Afterward, Poulter lamented the up-and-down nature of thinking he was in the Masters then suddenly learning he would be playing for a Masters berth against Kisner.

“I should never listen to other people,” Poulter said after his loss. “When you finish a round of golf and the press and everybody is telling you you're in the Masters, and then you get a text message 10 minutes before you tee off to correct everybody, to say, ‘Oh, we've made a mistake, actually, no, that was wrong, you're not in. You need to go and win.’ Not that that's an excuse in any form or factor, it's a little disappointing.”

Poulter rehashed his thoughts on social media.

Poulter can still get in the Masters, however. If he plays in the Houston Open and wins, he would get the final spot in the Masters.

“I'm tired. It's been a long week. It's been a draining week," said Poulter, who was uncertain if he'll play. "I'll wait until Monday night and if I have the energy then I will.”

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Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is the founder, owner and operator of Golf News Net.

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