Poulter has scrapped his way to the very top

Ian Poulter is a victim of envy and jealousy if a stupid survey is to be believed.

Results of an anonymous poll of PGA Tour professionals claimed that he and Rickie Fowler were the most over-rated players on Tour.

Well, Rickie certainly put that idea to bed with his brilliant victory at The Players’ Championship last Sunday.

Over-rated players simply don’t make three 2s on the same day under pressure at the most famous par-3 in golf with a tough pin position as Rickie did at the 17th at Sawgrass.

It would be fair to say he hadn’t realised his full potential, but now he has altered his swing after working with Butch Harmon, he has a big future ahead of him.

Rickie’s back-nine charge on Sunday was Arnold Palmer-esque and shows that he has the game and the temperament to win Majors.

As for Ian, he is an anachronism in modern golf, and especially in America.

He’s never won a strokeplay event on the PGA Tour, but he has won plenty of other tournaments around the world.

The Englishman has scrapped his way to the top because he has gone from selling tees and chocolate bars in a pro shop all the way to the Ryder Cup.

He’s also been successful off the course with his own clothing company and he has an expensive lifestyle, which is not to everyone’s taste.

In America, anyone who wants to be a successful golfer goes to college and it is a production line of talent.

It’s impossible to imagine a club professional overcoming the odds, making it onto the Tour and then the US Ryder Cup team, in the same way Ian has done in Europe.

Poulter is brash and confident and some people can’t relate to that. But he needs that weapon because this is an era of power players and Ian isn’t one of those.

His mental strength is his biggest attribute. We know he can hole a putt as we’ve seen at Valhalla and Medinah and he has come close in Majors.

With other players, it’s a question of having the mental fortitude to win. For Ian, it’s about his game standing up to the test.

However, you have to respect someone who has got the maximum out of his career. If that is good enough to land him a Major, only time will tell.