Ian Poulter rues damaging 75 in third round at Turkish Airlines Open
Sunday 16 November 2014 15:40, UK
Ian Poulter was left to reflect on his "frustrating" performance on Saturday after being pipped to the Turkish Airlines Open title by Brooks Koepka.
The Ryder Cup star had cruised into a six-shot lead at the halfway stage, but he relinquished his advantage after stumbling to a three-over 75 in the third round which left him a shot behind Wade Ormsby.
Poulter bounced back with a bogey-free 67 in the final round, but it was not enough to prevent American Koepka clinching a one-shot win and his maiden European Tour triumph.
"Hats off to Brooks for a great round today, obviously he's played some superb golf there," said Poulter. "The damage was done on Saturday.
"That, for me, is really disappointing. To have played three great rounds of golf, and just one blip on Saturday, which is a real shame.
"So you know, it's frustrating, is what it is. There's no other word for it. Yes, I'm going to be angry. I'll be angry for a good few days. But that's fine. I'll keep myself in my own little room and have a little chat with myself and come out and win next week."
Poulter missed a six-foot putt for birdie on the final green that would have forced a play-off, and he admitted he may have been deceived by watching playing-partner Lee Westwood hole his from a similar position.
"It was probably a bad thing that I actually stood there and watched Westy's putt, because I think he pushed it slightly and it fell in the right edge," he added.
"I knew my putt was going to break right to left. I hit it on what I thought was right edge on a decent pace and it broke across the hole."
Meanwhile, Marcel Siem closed with an erratic 71 to finish alongside Westwood on 12 under, five behind Koepka, and the German then revealed he had suffered a dislocated rib while warming up in the gym before his round.
"My physio tried to crack it back in, it didn't work and then we went so see the chiropractor and they pushed it back in," Siem said. "I couldn't have a proper backswing but I played all right. I don't want to blame it on anything to be honest.
"I hit a lot of greens, had great birdie chances, just didn't hole a putt."
