Ian Poulter delivered another big moment Sunday, this one for himself.
Down to his last putt, Poulter made a 20-foot birdie on the 18th hole to force a playoff with Beau Hossler, and then he won the Houston Open with a par on the first extra hole to earn the last spot in the Masters.
One week after Poulter was mistakenly told he had locked up a spot at Augusta National through the world ranking, he left no doubt by winning with a clutch moment reminiscent of his Ryder Cup heroics from Medinah in 2012.
"I had to dig deep today," said Poulter, who closed with a five-under 67.
Hossler, who also shot 67, overcame a three-shot deficit with four straight birdies on the back nine. He had a chance to win on the 18th in regulation with a 30-foot birdie putt that trickled over the right edge of the cup.
That set the stage for Poulter, and the 42-year-old from England lived up to his nickname as "The Postman" by delivering his biggest putt in years. Poulter pounded his chest five times when the putt dropped, and all Hossler could do was smile.
"I did think I'd made it," Hossler said, "but it hung out there. I gave Ian the perfect read (for him) to make his putt. I knew he was going to make it."
They finished at 19-under 269.
Poulter won for the third time on the PGA Tour, and his first in America since the Match Play in 2010 at Arizona. This was his first stroke-play victory in America, and the timing could not have been better.
When he reached the quarterfinals of the Dell Technologies Match Play last weekend in Austin, he was told it was enough to get him into the top 50 in the world ranking by the end of the weekend, the cutoff for qualifying for the Masters.
It turned out he needed to win his quarter-final match, and Poulter was informed of the mistake before he teed off. Kevin Kisner beat him, 8 and 6.
"Last week was painful," said Poulter. "To come here this week, I was tired. I was frustrated on Thursday. ... I was patient. I waited my time. And this is amazing."
The pair finished three strokes ahead of American Jordan Spieth whose closing 66 saw him secure third place with Argentine Emiliano Grillo.
Matt Jones was the best of the Australians, shooting an impressive final round four-under-par 68 to finish tied 52nd.
After his whirlwind third-round 65 which rocketed him to joint third position, Greg Chalmers shot a disappointing nine-over-par 81 to finish joint 70th.
