Poulter's Second Is A First

SOUTHPORT, England, July 20 -- Ian Poulter, the English golfer and part-time fashion designer, missed out on a chance to become the first British Open champion to wear pink pants in the final round. But he also dazzled the crowds Sunday with some fabulous play to finish second, his best showing in a major.

Poulter was tied for the lead at 7 over par after he birdied the 16th hole, but a three-putt par at the 17th and a missed five-footer for birdie at the 13th were the main reasons he did not become the first Englishman since Nick Faldo in 1992 to win golf's oldest major.

"Yeah, I should have finished a couple more under par," Poulter said. "I missed a good opportunity on 13 and three-putted 17, which is a little bit frustrating, and perhaps it might have pushed Paddy [Padraig Harrington] a little harder. But hats off to Padraig, going back to back. That's very impressive. Every credit to Padraig."

Poulter's playing partner, 20-year-old English amateur Chris Wood, also made a name for himself this week, shooting a 2-over 72 Sunday for 10-over 290, tying Jim Furyk (1 over 71) for fifth place.

His sister was in Prague this week but sent him a text message a few days ago asking "are you still at that golf thingy?"

"I don't think she knows much about golf," he said.

Falling Short Again

It was another disappointment for Phil Mickelson, now 0-9 in majors since he blew the 2006 U.S. Open with a double bogey at the 72nd hole. On Sunday he shot a 1-over 71 for a four-day total of 14-over 294, leaving him tied for 19th.

"I think consistently day in and day out, it's as challenging a wind as I've played in for for four days," he said. "We had times like at Muirfield in 2002 when it would come up even stronger, but consistently this has been one of the harder ones. The positives I can take are that I probably hit it better in the wind then I ever have." . . .

If Anthony Kim, the recent winner of the AT&T National at Congressional, took any positives from his tie for seventh -- his best showing in five major appearances -- only he could say for sure, and he wasn't talking. After bogeys on his final three holes and no birdies on his fourth-round 75, he declined to comment, telling tournament officials he was too angry to talk.

No Reason to Complain

Davis Love III has played in the British Open every year since 1987 and finished his 22nd tournament Sunday with a round of 75 and a tie for 19th. He also had a message for American players who either didn't show up -- as in three-time 2008 winner Kenny Perry -- or played this week but moaned about the difficulty of weather conditions and the course set-up.

"If you don't want to come, don't come," he said. "Kenny Perry is a great friend of mine, a great guy . . . and he's doing what he wants to do and he's not complaining. That's the way to do it. If you don't like it, don't come. If you don't like the U.S. Open [which Perry also skipped], don't come. If you don't like the Masters, don't come."