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ESTEPONA, Spain (Reuters) - Ian Poulter beat Luke Donald in the World Match Play Championship final on Sunday to deny his fellow Briton the world number one ranking.
In a scrappy encounter, Poulter sealed a 2&1 victory to become the first player to win both world match play titles on either side of the Atlantic.
Poulter added this trophy to his 2010 triumph in the Accenture World Golf Championship with three decisive holes on the back nine.
Both players had nudged a hole in front at various stages but a stunning 45-foot birdie putt by Poulter on the 12th brought him back level.
Donald had gone ahead after Poulter left his ball in bushes on the long eighth and had to concede the hole, slipping awkwardly while trying to extricate himself from the undergrowth.
Poulter then went one-up with an approach to three feet on the 14th.
Poulter's killer shot, though, came at the 16th when he fired in to just 18 inches to go two-up before closing the match out with a par on 17.
(Editing by Ed Osmond; to query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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In a scrappy encounter, Poulter sealed a 2&1 victory to become the first player to win both world match play titles on either side of the Atlantic.
Poulter added this trophy to his 2010 triumph in the Accenture World Golf Championship with three decisive holes on the back nine.
Both players had nudged a hole in front at various stages but a stunning 45-foot birdie putt by Poulter on the 12th brought him back level.
Donald had gone ahead after Poulter left his ball in bushes on the long eighth and had to concede the hole, slipping awkwardly while trying to extricate himself from the undergrowth.
Poulter then went one-up with an approach to three feet on the 14th.
Poulter's killer shot, though, came at the 16th when he fired in to just 18 inches to go two-up before closing the match out with a par on 17.
(Editing by Ed Osmond; to query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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