No Limits: My Autobiography by Ian Poulter
Author:Ian Poulter
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Golf, Sports & Recreation, Sports
ISBN: 9781782066903
Publisher: Quercus
Published: 2014-10-22T23:00:00+00:00
Chapter 18
Rough with the Smooth
Despite the fuss about the Golf World interview, which was still an issue going into the Masters, I played well at Augusta in 2008. It was Ryder Cup year, Nick Faldo, one of my golfing heroes, was the captain of the European team, and I was desperate to get myself into a position where I didn’t miss out again, like I had at the K Club.
I shot 70 in the first round at the Masters, my lowest score to date, and I got the first hole-in-one at the tournament for three years. I hit a lovely eight-iron into the sixteenth green and it rolled back down the slope and into the cup. I shot 69 in the second round and was in a tie for third going into the weekend, three shots behind the eventual winner, Trevor Immelman.
I fell away a bit over Saturday and Sunday and finished in a tie for twenty-fifth, but I was encouraged by my performance overall. I had some uneven results over the rest of the spring, but I went into the US Open at Torrey Pines outside San Diego that June with some optimism. It turned out the optimism was misplaced.
The rough that week was absolutely brutal. It was one of the toughest set-ups I have ever seen and it wasn’t helped by the fact that I struggled with my game. I shot 78 in the first round, so I knew I was going to be in a battle to make the cut on the Friday. It is a battle, too. It beats you up. Every single tee-shot is like taking a jab in the face. By the time you get to the seventy-second hole, it has worn you out.
In the second round, I had a nightmare on the twelfth hole. I was level-par up to that point, but I pushed my tee-shot right and it found the rough. I took a wedge, but only managed to get the ball out a few feet. I felt incredibly frustrated. I had been carrying a slight wrist injury and I could feel that I was aggravating it by trying to chop my way around the course.
At the US Open, we play on the toughest golf courses and they set it up so that it’s very difficult. At the bottom of the order, you have got guys who are twenty-five over par. It gets ugly. There is no other word for it. You have got some of the best players in the world shooting fifteen or sixteen over par. It’s not enjoyable for anybody to play in that, nor is it enjoyable for some of the spectators. Some people like it, some people don’t. It’s just the way it is and it is something you have to deal with because it’s not going to change.
I like it tough, but you have to start with the mindset that par for the week might be 75 a day. If you start with the mindset that it’s a twenty-over week, then you’ll have a good week.
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