Ian Poulter and son Luke won't forget the Asian Tour's International Series England event at Close House in a hurry after the pair completed memorable finishes.
Poulter senior, 47, came runner-up after a final round 64 for an impressive nine-under total but the proud dad will be more thrilled for his son Luke, 19, who finished level par to end up tied 22nd in the pro competition which had a starting field of 156 players.
Dad Ian was among the first to hug Luke for his birdie, eagle, par finish to join him in making the halfway cut but the youngster played even better over the weekend with rounds of 68 and 71 for a 284 total despite being the only amateur in the field. "It’s been amazing,” Luke said. “I beat him [Ian Poulter] one of the days, it was really cool and my main goal was to try and beat him this week, but, he got me by nine!”
Birdie, eagle, par finish for Luke Poulter to join his dad @IanJamesPoulter in making the cut at the @intseriesgolf at @CloseHouseGolf 👏🏼⛳️ pic.twitter.com/0oRKiQbzhmAugust 18, 2023
Poulter junior, who attends the University of Florida, eclipsed Lee Westwood's son, Sam, was competing in the event as a pro but missed the cut by ten shots after rounds of 76 and 79.
And his dad Ian was delighted with his final round too attempting to win for the first time in five years. He said: “I just kind of found the key to hitting a few putts on these greens, which I didn’t have the first three days. And you know, when you do that and you play good golf like I played the first three days, then you’re going to be able to make some birdies. I made quite a few ‘birds’."
But the biggest winner was American Andy Ogletree who finished 16-under and continues to dominate the Asian Tour with some hugely impressive play as his final round 64 ensured a seven-shot win and snuffed out any hopes of being overhauled.
It earned Ogletree’s third convincing International Series victory – he triumphed in Qatar by three this year and by four in Egypt last season – and it consolidated his lead on both the Asian Tour and International Series Order of Merits.
Ogletree, 25, who banked $360,000, is now being tipped for a glittering future by former Major winner Graeme McDowell after the American played for LIV in their first series.
McDowell assessed: "He was the US Amateur Champion of course but there's a bedding in period to step up the pro golf.
"Going straight into LIV Golf was like going into the lion’s den. There was obviously a lot of scrutiny, a lot of pressure, a lot of eyeballs, a lot of kind of negativity, and LIV was maybe a hard start for him in the beginning.
"But having the opportunity to play on the Asian Tour, playing as well as he has, he’s gone from strength-to-strength. It’s great to see him playing well and if he makes it, he’ll be a great addition to LIV.
"He’s clearly a young and upcoming superstar and it will be super interesting to see which team he fits into and how he does when he comes back out to play."
The Asian Tour now journeys north of the border next week for the inaugural St Andrews Bay Championship at Fairmont St Andrews. The $1.5 million event tees off on Thursday and features a host of big names, including former Masters champion Sergio Garcia.
