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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

February 25, 2005

Ian Poulter

CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA

SCOTT CROCKETT: Ian, thanks, as always, for coming in. A different win where you were well in front, you were behind coming in to the last holes. But almost as satisfying, perhaps.

IAN POULTER: Very satisfying, 2 down, five to play is never easy, and I gave a couple of holes away to Rory, which was very frustrating. And he made two eagles on me.

So if you're going to do that, you're looking at losing four holes pretty quickly there. So it was really nice to come really play well down the stretch, and take it away and win, it was fantastic.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Those of us that know you know you never give up, and that was proven today.

IAN POULTER: I will never give up until the last ball is struck. So that's just proved it out there. You just can't give up. As I say, again, "Impossible is Nothing," on my wristband.

Q. When you were 2 down with five to play, what were you thinking? What were you saying to yourself?

IAN POULTER: A couple of birdies, be patient, five holes to go. I've made so many birdies in the last couple of days, there's no reason why I can't birdie four of the last five. There's no reason I can't birdie five the whole last five. And that's what I just kept saying to myself. Rory hit a couple of poor shots out there coming down the stretch, and I managed to shut the door on that.

Q. It was a great match to watch. What was it like to play it?

IAN POULTER: Tiring. It was hard work. It was a good battle round the front nine. As I say, I pretty much gave him a couple of holes on the front nine, which was frustrating. It was to'ing and fro'ing. He holed a couple of nice putts to go a couple up on me, and I just stuck in there. I knew I could overcome it.

Q. What are your thoughts on your bracket, top four seeds?

IAN POULTER: I couldn't tell you who's in it, no idea.

Q. Top four seeds are out. Do you feel like that gives you a chance to get into the semis?

IAN POULTER: As I said, out there everybody in the top 64 can play golf, and it doesn't matter who you play. The previous two rounds of golf I've shot 7 under, 6 under par, and today I'm only a couple under par. You could play Tiger and he has an off day, and all of a sudden he shoots a couple over. So you just don't know. Take each shot as it comes.

Q. Do you look at the leaderboards anymore or any less on a match like this? Do you even watch some of the matches for fun?

IAN POULTER: Not really. I haven't really looked at the board. As I say, I couldn't really tell you who's left in it. I'm just really concentrating on my own game. And if I do do that, it's obviously the next person.

Q. Do you know who you play tomorrow?

IAN POULTER: I think it's Nick O'Hern.

Q. You really do concentrate on just the moment of the match that you're in, right?

IAN POULTER: Well, you can't get too far ahead of yourself, can you? In this game it can come up and smack you right in the face pretty hard. Your mind wanders when you're 3 up and 4 up like I was yesterday, but I managed to sort myself out and finish the job off and threw away a good opportunity today, and fortunately he didn't finish it off.

Q. It may sound like a dumb question, but no one can concentrate for that long for, what, four to eight hours that you were out there. Between shots, how do you relax yourself so you're not in the moment all the time, or do you?

IAN POULTER: I'm just thinking all sorts of stuff, stuff going on back home. And when I get over my shot, I have 50 seconds to hit, turn myself back on again. It's just time to concentrate. Nobody can concentrate for that length of time. If you did, you'd be exhausted by it. So you just turn yourself on and off.

Q. How difficult is it to play 36 holes and potentially 36 holes tomorrow?

IAN POULTER: It's not that difficult if you're winning (laughter).

Q. One of the other guys said it was more because of the mud, it was more like walking

IAN POULTER: It's softer out there, so obviously that is going to be more tiring on your legs. And that's why it's good to get your rest time in between. I've got my physio Kam Phavra with me this week, and he's been doing great. He's been massaging my calves and my legs after the rounds of golf, and that makes a big difference. And to be able to have someone like that working with you is definitely a benefit.

Q. You're playing some of the best golf of anybody in the field. If this was a stroke play event, you'd be very close to the lead. Knowing that you're playing well, was it frustrating to be behind there a little bit?

IAN POULTER: Yeah, it was, but you've just got to be patient, obviously. I have been playing great and I was making plenty of birdies, so I just knew just to be patient, because if you get frustrated your opponent is going to get on top of you. I tried to stay as calm as I could.

Q. Was there a key moment, key shot you made this afternoon in the afternoon match?

IAN POULTER: I think the shot I hit into the par 3, 16. I was 1 down and I hit it to about eight feet. That was a nice shot in there. Rory goes and hits it to 30 feet and hits it on the back fringe. I still had to make a putt, but I think that was a good turning point there.

Q. What club was that?

IAN POULTER: 7 iron.

Q. What was the distance of that?

IAN POULTER: 184, 183.

End of FastScripts.

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