Ian Poulter has pulled out of the $5 million Singapore Open due to the theft of a very special driver.
It's the Cobra Driver he used in this year's Ryder Cup at Valhalla, and someone apparently grabbed it from that pink Poulter bag in Shanghai over the weekend.
It seems images of the driver thief were caught on a surveillance camera and posted around the Sheshan Golf Club where the incident occurred. A reward was even offered for it's safe return. But to no avail. The robber went unrecognized, and with a bundle of world ranking points on the line, the colorful Englishman... currently ranked 25th... felt it best to withdraw. A replacement would not have been available in time.
Naturally IP was devastated or, as he told reporters, "really gutted", but one man's loss is another's fortune; India’s awesome Anirban Lahiri will take Poulter's place at the event, which happens to be the richest national open on the Asian Tour.
My fave Spanish blogger just posted a video he took of IP a couple of weeks ago practicing with the now missing driver.
I'm thinking they might want to question Anirban Lahiri in this case.
ReplyDelete;)
I feel bad for Ian, but he's supposed to be a professional. I think if this happened to Tiger, he probably would have played sans-Driver anyway and still would have been able to compete; maybe even win!
ReplyDeleteA charade. Poulter could have come up with a more than serviceable driver and it was reported that the replacement would be there by Friday.
ReplyDeleteIan Poulter is tremendously popular...a huge draw at tournaments. I'm sure it's a major letdown for the organizers and fans.
ReplyDeleteI have the driver. A quick 15 minute interview and he can have it back!
ReplyDeletewhat a whiner. I hope the tournament directors demanded their appearance money back. the guy hits his 3 wood almost 300 yards off the tee. JUST PLAY !
ReplyDeleteHello! Congratulations on the blog!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to pass on this news all the way from Texas...
San Antonio, TX is soon to be a major golf destination. The Valero Texas open will be in the spring beginning in 2009 and will take place at the new AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio in 2010. With these news… more people are sure to take notice of the great venues available in the area. The AT&T Oaks Course designed by Greg Norman, as well as the AT&T Canyons Course designed by Pete Dye, are two brand new additions to San Antonio, specifically the Hill Country. Surrounded by rolling hills, the courses are part of the new JW Marriott Hill Country Resort & Spa opening in March of 2010. The new resort will be the largest of the JW Marriotts with 1002 rooms and 140,000 square feet of exhibit space. I’m looking forward to the New Year and having a new excuse to drive to the Hill country. The area is full of historic sites, vineyards, music legends and diverse culture. With 300 plus days of sunshine a year my first thought was that it was the perfect choice for these courses and this tournament! Here's the site: www.tpcsanantonio.com