Poulter - winner in Denmark (Getty Images).
POULTER HAS HIGH HOPES
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Ian Poulter arrived in America on Monday with ``massive expectations'' of himself
in the USPGA Championship.
Poulter headed straight for Oak Hill in New York for the final major of the
year after his second victory of the season and fifth of his career in the
inaugural Nordic Open in Copenhagen.
And the confident 27-year-old is not planning on simply making up the numbers
in just his second major on the other side of the Atlantic.
``I have massive expectations of the USPGA now,'' said Poulter after a
final-round 66 gave him a 22-under-par total and one-shot victory over Colin
Montgomerie. ``I'm very, very confident the way I played this week.
``I really hit some fantastic shots all week and very few off line. Obviously
the course next week is going to be a lot tougher but if I keep hitting the
middle of the fairways and holing some putts I'm really looking forward to a big
couple of weeks.
``I came here after eight days without touching a club, hit it bad on Monday,
rusty on Tuesday and started to get the feeling back on Wednesday, and it shows
all the work I have been doing with David Leadbetter is paying off.''
Poulter's win also paid off for a local woman who had bet 1,000 Danish Kroner
(approximately £100) on him at odds of 22/1 at the start of the week.
``I was having dinner on Saturday night in an Italian restaurant when she just
passed me this betting slip and said `you had better win''', added Poulter, who
pocketed a cheque for £187,000.
Montgomerie had a chance to force a play-off on the last but left his birdie
putt short from 15 feet, while playing partner Soren Hansen birdied the last
three holes to claim a share of third on 20 under with Scot Stephen Gallacher
and France's Gregory Havret.
The 40-year-old Scot, playing his first event since being forced to pull out
of the Open after seven holes of his first round with a hand injury, said after
his closing 68: ``I was given a chance by Ian when he parred the last three
holes, which are all birdie opportunities.
``My playing partner Soren birdied all three and I needed two but I got only
one.
``I didn't quite get the momentum and didn't have the feel with the putter. I
left too many short this week, including the one on the last for a tie.
``But it's coming back and it's good after three weeks off that I have
competed well. It's a good start to the back end of the year because the front
end did not exist.
``Winning is nice but if you can't win you finish second. To be two under
after the first day and get to 21 under is very good.''