Ian Poulter has been forced to play in this week’s Hong Kong Open to keep alive his hopes of a place on next year’s European Ryder Cup team.
The Englishman has added the tournament to his schedule after falling out of the world top 50. Poulter slipped to 51st when the rankings were updated earlier this week. At the moment, he is not eligible for the upcoming WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai, meaning he would be unable to play the 13 events required for European Tour membership.
Only European Tour members can qualify for next year’s European Ryder Cup team, so Poulter had to scramble.