Players Championship Tip: Ian Poulter

Never one to be scared of the limelight Ian Poulter has been strangely quiet. With vast swathes of Europeans fighting for the world number one spot, Poulter has been chugged along away from the glare. This recent spate of anonymity with probably do him good and take some of the pressure off his putting which has let him down recently.

Overall, the Englishman’s game has been in good shape. A share of 27th place at Augusta was followed by a T36 at the Heritage, a tournament where he was near the top of the leaderboard for the first two rounds.

Having played only seven events on the PGA tour he will arrive at Sawgrass fresh because his schedule is planned around the majors. Although the Players Championship isn’t strictly one of those it is a tournament he will want to win nevertheless.  Poulter displayed his liking for the course with a second placed finish two years ago, although he missed the cut last year that was only the second time in seven visits to Sawgrass.

Ranking 7th on tour for sand saves, he has the attributes to scramble when trouble inevitably arrives, especially on a course with several pot bunkers and unkempt sandy areas. At 66/1 he offers value each way with Bet365 paying ¼  odds for a top six finish.