Poulter's new mansion destroying his golf game

Usually when Ian Poulter's name comes up, it has something to do with him buying a new wardrobe, getting his hair or nails done, getting massages, or purchasing a new sports car. Sounds like a tough life.

And now he's facing an even more difficult challenge. Having a new mansion built is making it difficult on his golf game.

Ian Poulter vs. Tiger Woods

"I don't think he'll [Tiger Woods] finish in the top five. The shots he was hitting at Doral were very inconsistent. You can't afford to hit shots like that on this golf course [Augusta National] and get away with it. I don't think you want to rely on your short game that much around this place."

Another stellar prediction by Poulter. Almost as good as this one when he said the golf world would come down to just him and Tiger.

Currently the scoreboard reads:

Woods: 14 majors, 71 PGA wins
Poulter: 0 majors, 1 PGA win

Poulter's Predictions

Over the years, Ian Poulter has made some pretty idiotic predictions.

Above, he said the USA had no chance vs. England at the World Cup.

USA 1 England 1. Sorry Ian, teach your goalie how to catch.

In 2008, he predicted he would rival Tiger. "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."

Oh really. Huh. Since then, Tiger has 10 PGA wins including a major and Poulter has 1 win on Tour.

And his latest:

"The American guys who have won all the tournaments over the past few years are getting older. Phil Mickelson is 40 – can he do what Vijay Singh did in his 40s? He's strong enough; it's whether he is hungry enough, I guess.

"The talent in America to replace them is very young and needs a bit more experience, so we have a 15-year window. The Americans have a gap and that gap is being filled by European guys right now, guys who are in their late 20s, early 30s and who are doing the job right now.

"In five years' time we should have taken a few majors. I don't want to put a number on it but the English guys that are in the top 40 in the world are all capable of winning them. It's for us to go out there and prove it but we can certainly win one or two a year, for sure."

He is right that there are several English players in the top 10 and they have been getting closer to winning majors, however, to say that they have a 15 year gap is absurd.

He is asking if Phil Mickelson is hungry enough? He just won the Masters genius.

Only time will tell if Ian "1 PGA win" Poulter, Paul "triple bogey at every major" Casey, or Lee "runner up" Westwood can get it done in a major.

Final Four set at Accenture Match Play

Despite many of the top seeds losing early, some big names have reached the final four of the Accenture World Match Play.

In the quarterfinals Saturday morning, Ian Poulter defeated Thongchai Jaidee 1up while Sergio Garcia defeated Oliver Wilson by a score of 4 and 3. On the other side of the bracket, Camillo Villegas beat Retief Goosen 4 and 3 while Paul Casey whipped up on Stewart Cink, winning with a score of 5 up.

The semi-finals take place Saturday afternoon and the 36 hole final will be Sunday.

Final Four

Camillo Villegas
vs.

Paul Casey


Ian Poulter

vs.

Sergio Garcia

Predictions:

Villegas over Casey
Garcia over Poulter

AP photos / Nam Huh