Ian Poulter has made a last-minute dash from Florida to Hong Kong in order to maintain his European Tour membership and remain eligible for next year’s Ryder Cup.
Poulter dropped out of the world’s top 50 on Sunday and was therefore ineligible for the upcoming WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai, meaning he would be unable to play the 13 events required for European Tour membership.
Only members can qualify for Europe’s Ryder Cup team and Poulter has now been forced to travel to Fanling for this week’s Hong Kong Open, with former US PGA champion Rich Beem – now a commentator for Sky Sports – giving up his tournament invite to allow Poulter a place in the field.
Poulter posted a picture on his Twitter account of a FedEx parcel, writing: “That’s what you call cutting it fine, passports arrived 7.15am, taking off at 9am to make flight to Hong Kong.”
The 39-year-old added: “Thanks to @beemerpga for giving up his invitation to allow me to play in Hong Kong. Where would you like me to take you for dinner?”
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Poulter could be greeted by giant spiders and thick jungle, if he strays into the rough in Hong Kong, after the USA’s Patrick Reed revealed the intricacies of the course.
“It’s quite different from back home,” the world No20 said. “If you hit the ball into the trees, it’s like jungle. I saw a wolf spider bigger than my hand.”
Despite being just 25 kilometres from the skyscrapers of downtown Hong Kong, the Fanling course is surrounded by tree-clad hills.
World No7 Justin Rose is back in Hong Kong after failing to make the cut in 2011 and knows what he is up against. Asked how he planned to attack the course, he joked: “From the fairway.”
He added: “It’s a very strategic golf course, narrow and slopey. It’s more of a thinking man’s golf course than not. My caddie is walking the course, he’s doing a lot of the grunt work.”
