The Open / Bill Elliott / 12 July 2010 /

The colourful character of British golf has taken the quiet approach to winning this week's Open, as Bill Elliott found out

This time there will be no Union Jack trews, no Claret Jug inset on the seam. This time, apparently, it's serious.

This may be a pity but life for Ian Poulter is, at 34, suddenly quite obviously grown-up. After years of telling himself and anyone prepared to stop and listen just how good he is at the old game, Poulter is now living up to his own hype and it's good to see.

He always has been a good lad but now he knows, really knows, that he is potentially a great golfer. Can he win this Open? Course he can. Will he? Ah now, there's the question.

What I do know is that Hitchen's finest is giving himself a max chance of mixing it with the biggest of boys over the Old Course. In fact he is already mixing it with them.

Instead of playing in the Scottish Open, Ian spent three days practising with his mates in Scotland. In Poulter's case his mates are Justin Rose, Geoff Ogilvy and Adam Scott. It is sure to have been a quiet, intense and, often, laughter-filled time.

"Y'know, I feel good about my golf right now, " he says. "I actually played very well in France although I had a frustrating finish. Certainly my ball-striking over much of the final round was as good as it has been for some time.

"I decided to practice at St Andrews early because the practice rounds during the week itself can take six or seven hours and if you do that for three days then by the time you tee off on Thursday you can already be tired.

"This way we'll play at least three rounds and because it's quiet I can nip out for another nine if I want. It means I can look forward to a relaxed Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday of Open week when I'll play just nine holes a day."

Now comfortably berthed within the world top ten, Poulter is at last adding up properly to the sum of his competitive parts. He always has been utterly confident and super-confident but these days he is also actually really quite good at golf.

He remains the court jester to the in-crowd of youngish British players who are doing so well in 2010 and their laughter only increased when one of their number, Ulster's Graeme McDowell, took the US Open last month.

"It was a great win for Graeme, " says Poulter. "And that's all good for the rest of us guys too because it gives us all a kick up the backside> It says 'come on, it is out there so go out and grab it with both hands'. It's a real boost because he showed that anything is possible for anyone with good golf, grit and determination.

"As a group, we drive each other on week-in, week-out. I think we just feed off each other's confidence and the vibe to be honest. I mean it goes without saying that you're inspired and that you rev each other up when other players who are friends do so well."

Poulter, of course, made his mark on The Open when he finished second to Padraig Harrington at Birkdale two years ago thanks to his own inspired final round. Last year, however, at Turnberry he crashed and burned before the halfway hut. Too cocky? Maybe. It's a mistake he is determined not to make this time.

"Five years ago I played the front nine at St Andrews very poorly. My lines were all wrong. That's what I'm concentrating on now, getting those lines and angles right, that's so important at the Old Course."

And if he does get them right? Well, he may have got them wrong in 2005 but guess where he finished? Eleventh. Nuff said, I think...

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