Poulter took a few shots from fellow pros insulted by the remark, and took quite a bit of mockery from golf media and bloggers who were mostly amused by the comment. After all, at the time he said it, Poulter had never won on the USPGA and wasn't ranked anywhere near No. 2.
Well, now he has, and he is. Poulter defeated Paul Casey to win the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship on Sunday, earning his first WGC tournament win, and official USPGA Tour victory No. 1. And the win moved him up to No. 5 in the world rankings. No. 5 isn't No. 2, but it'll do. For now.
Poulter has always said his remarks about Tiger were misinterpreted, that he meant no disrespect to other players. He was simply expressing a desire to be the best. But since being better than Woods is out of reach for most Tour players who are being reasonable with themselves, Poulter said he wanted to be No. 2.
"If you don't think you can be the best - or at least second best to the finest golfer who has ever lived - you're wasting your time," Poulter told the British newspaper The Sun later in 2008. "And no one has ever accused me of being short of ambition or self-belief."
Tiger, for one, got a kick out of Poulter's "only me and Tiger Woods" remarks. Woods started calling Poulter "No. 2." "He always greets me now by shouting, 'How's it going No 2?' " Poulter told The Sun. "And I reply, 'It's all great No 1.' "
Poulter was pretty in pink on Sunday in Arizona, beating Casey while decked out in an all-pink outfit. Poulter has always been a charismatic player, and an easily recognizable player with his interesting (and mostly successful) fashion sense. Now he's finally a winner in America - and much closer to being No. 2.
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Comments
Ian Poulter played a great tournament and never let up during the finals against Paul Casey.
His stance on wanting to be No. 2 is admirable. I hope he reaches his goals.
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