Ian Poulter reflects on his career turnaround at The Players last year
Wednesday 9 May 2018 17:40, UK
Ian Poulter has outlined the value of confidence and being able to plan long-term goals as he reflected on his career-defining performance at last year's Players Championship.
Poulter thought he had lost his PGA Tour card until a mix-up with calculations was spotted by Brian Gay, handing the Englishman a reprieve which he took full advantage at TPC Sawgrass 12 months ago.
The 42-year-old capped a runner-up finish with one of the shots of the year at the 72nd hole, where he almost holed a 116-yard wedge from the pine straw, and his strong showing allowed him to plan a long-term schedule for the remainder of the season.
Poulter has enjoyed playing with freedom and confidence since his remarkable turnaround in fortunes, and has carried that form into 2018 as he qualified for the Masters in magnificent style with victory at the Houston Open.
"I definitely think The Players was a huge part of 2017 for me," said Poulter. "Just to be told I was exempt to play was a huge bonus, and obviously to then kick on from that and play well, finishing runner-up, obviously enabled me to go back to Europe and play a bit more and really kind of work on a schedule.
"It really wasn't nice to be in that position where it's not very easy to be able to plan any type of a schedule. It's mentally tough to work out what it is you're doing week in, week out, but to get that runner-up position to be able then to plan a schedule.
"So to have stuff mapped out is quite nice. I've got the rest of this year mapped out; I know what I'm doing, where I'm going, and that's quite a nice feeling. Last year was a bit chaotic, certainly at the start of the year there were a lot of unknowns, but we have managed to turn that around.
"I was asking myself lots of questions, so to be able to come through that tough period, be able to deliver was goods, and obviously playing on confidence is a lot better for my state of mind than obviously the doubts.
"To play free, to have goals fresh in your mind, long-term goals, is a good position, rather than week-to-week goals. It takes a lot of pressure off you. You can play freer, you can plan your schedule, you can enjoy your golf a bit more. Yeah, I mean it's a lot easier to play golf with that clear mind than obviously a busy one.
"Confidence is everything. I think when you're the type of player that I am, that has pulled on confidence throughout my whole career, to have a level of confidence is a really good thing. I've had to pull on it a number of times."
Poulter also revealed he will base himself in Europe for the majority of the summer as he bids to cement a place in Thomas Bjorn's Ryder Cup team in September.
"There's an event in late September which means a lot to me, and obviously I'm going to want to put myself in that position," added Poulter, who was an assistant captain to Darren Clarke at Hazeltine in 2016 when he was sidelined by a foot problem.
"So after this week I'll head back to Europe, and I'm going to base myself in Europe for the summer. I'll come back and play the US Open, and obviously I want to stay in the world top 30 and I want to move up. But I'm not looking at it that I have to do it. I've put too much emphasis on that in the past trying to make push and runs to get in."
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