Ian Poulter took a giant step to becoming the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year when he captured the Italian Open at Is Molas in Sardinia. Poulter fired a closing 69 to finish on 21 under par, one stroke clear of Scotland’s Gordon Brand Jnr, and claim his maiden European Tour title in his first year on Tour. The 24-year-old moves up to 29th in the Volvo Order of Merit with 410,134 euro (£238,450) and goes into the Volvo Masters looking to extend his lead over Alastair Forsyth is the race to finish as the top rookie.
Poulter started the final round with a three shot lead but after 12 straight pars found himself two behind Brand Jnr who fired six birdies by the 12th. Poulter dug deep and got his round moving with a birdie on the 13th and stayed within a stroke of the lead with a birdie on the 15th. He made a brave par on the 16th by holing a testing downhill six footer after finding the bunker with his third shot and drew leval at the top a hole later with his third birdie of the day. As he waited to hit his drive on the last Brand Jnr, playing in the group in front, was unable to save his par from the right hand bunker and Poulter was left with needing a par for victory. Two shots found the edge of the green and two putts later Poulter was crowned champion. The 166,660 euro (£96,895) elevated him to 29th in the Volvo Order of Merit and fifth in the Ryder Cup points table.
“It feels absolutely fantastic,” said Poulter. “It was a slow start. Three shots in front makes it very difficult as you are always waiting for someone else to make a charge. Then I hit it in the water off 12 which made it interesting. Made a great five there and realised I was two behind and had to start kicking it into gear. That’s what we did.”
Brand Jnr was chasing his ninth European Tour title but first since the 1993 European Open. A flurry of birdies early on saw him first catch and then pass Poulter but a bogey on the last green proved costly for the 42-yar-old.
“Twenty under par is the best I have ever shot in a golf tournament. Although I didn’t win it and dropped a shot on the last which was disappointing I’m happy with the scoring this week. The front nine was really good. Played really well. The back nine wasn’t quite as easy.
“But Ian has played well this week and all credit to him. He has the chance to be Rookie of the Year. It was me once.”
Indeed as well as Brand Jnr, Poulter now has the chance to follow in the footsteps of players such as his boyhood inpsiration, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Colin Montgomerie and last year’s winner Sergio Garcia.
“It’s a great feeling to be following some great players as a rookie of the year,” he said. “I knew I was behind Alastair coming into this week. I knew I had to play well. There is still next week to go but this puts me nicely in front. I just want to try and get into contention next week.”
Arguably the bravest performance of the week came from Spain’s Francisco Cea. The 26-year-old from Malaga climbed to 136th in the Volvo Order of Merit by finishing joint fifth last week in Madrid but he needed a similar performance this week to secure his playing rights for the 2001 season. Rounds of 70, 63, 68 and 69 for am 18 under par total of 270 gave him a share of third place which elevated him to 106th in the Volvo Order of Merit and earned him a place on the European Tour for 2001.
“There was a lot of pressure. A lot of pressure all week,” he said. “But I’m very happy now. Very happy.”
In another sub-plot for this week Australian left-hander Richard Green earned his place in the field for next week’s Volvo Masters for sharing third place.
