“ANNOYING”. A “d***” who hitched a ride on his £42.5million private jet and the man who had the audacity to wear the same colour clothes as him.
For Tiger Woods, stepping onto the first tee at Augusta with Ian Poulter 12 months ago was more than golf, it was reigniting a deep-seated feud that stretched back years.
And it was winning that third-round battle that paved the way for Woods to complete one of sport’s greatest comebacks and become Masters champion for a fifth time.
In a new book, The Second Life of Tiger Woods, author Michael Bamberger recounts that day last year when Woods and English Ryder Cup legend Poulter clashed at Augusta.
He says that “Tiger likes to beat everybody, but some golfers he likes beating more than others”.
To understand that fractious relationship, we need to go back a few years.
In 2008 Poulter infamously claimed that when he played well it was just him and Woods in the golfing world who mattered.
He said: “The trouble is, I don’t rate anyone else.
“Don’t get me wrong, I really respect every professional golfer but I know I haven’t played to my full potential and when that happens, it will be just me and Tiger.”
Poults, who was ridiculed for the remark, was ranked 22nd in the world at the time and ribbed by mate Lee Westwood, who referred to him as “number two”.
Before that, Woods’ former coach Hank Haney lit the touchpaper in his tell-all memoir when he revealed what happened when fan favourite Poulter boarded Woods’ private jet in 2007, seemingly without an invite.
Haney claims Woods, sat just in front, texted him saying: “Can you believe this d*** mooched a ride on my plane?”
Asked about the incident, Poulter said: “The book has nothing to do with me and I have no interest in commenting on it.”
Putting a lid on it merely served to simmer the tension.
Bamberger suggests being drawn with Poulter – who the author alleges Woods finds “annoying, too cheeky, too loud” – last year had Woods at boiling point again.
That was apparently exacerbated when Poulter turned up for the third round in lilac trousers, clashing with Woods’ lilac shirt.
The clothes a player will wear during Masters week are scripted way in advance of the event.
It is suggested that a detail as small as that lit a fire in Woods – who shot a five-under 67 to Poulter’s 68 on the day.
The duo played together a year earlier too but were both miles out of contention, unlike last year.
Speaking about 12 months ago, Poulter, to his credit, said he knew Woods the predator was just waiting to pounce.
He said: “He was ready, he had all the shots and was pretty damn good. He had more of his game together than a year earlier, by a mile.
“There was a buzz out there all day Saturday. Playing with him was fun, but you could sense he was lurking.”
How right that was to prove, with Woods holding on for a one-shot win the next day to seal his comeback from a sex scandal, DUI arrest and four debilitating back surgeries.
Mad to think that a pair of flashy trousers could have contributed to it.
