Since being added to the Masters market Poulter's odds have tumbled as punters pile on the Houston Open winner.
It was after the WGC Dell Match Play where Poulter admitted he was not even sure he would be turning up to the event at Houston.
Poulter was under the impression a place in the last eight would confirm his place at Augusta. However that was a mistake, and just moments before his quarter-final match against Kevin Kisner, he was told that was not the case. He went on to lose.
Thankfully the Englishman did arrive at the tournament, as if he hadn't, we would not have had the pleasure of witnessing the biggest comeback on the PGA Tour for 35 years.
After the first round of the Houston Open, he was 123rd on the leaderboard. He came out the next day a man possessed and from Friday to Sunday he scored 20 under-par.
The biggest moment of his week he saved for last. Poulter left himself a 20-yard birdie putt to force a play-off on the final hole. He drained it.
A following par in the first and only play-off hole was enough to see off Beau Hossler and mark his maiden PGA Tour strokeplay victory whilst also snatching the last slot in the 87-man Masters field.
The 42-year-old was immediately added to the Masters market by bookmakers at odds of around 100/1 and 90/1. With the magic of Poulter’s comeback fresh in the mind, those prices on offer did not last long.
Since last night, the man who finished tied-6th in 2015 has been the most backed player to win the Masters, accounting for 14.6% of all bets.
To put that into perspective, that is more than twice as many as most bookmaker’s favourite Rory McIlroy (6.8% of bets) and four times as many as quadruple Augusta champion Tiger Woods (3.6%).
If you wanted to back Ian Poulter now, the prices on offer vary quite markedly. 70/1 is the best price on offer whilst his odds range from 40/1 to 45/1 for those firms offering 10 places. 60/1 and 8 places is probably the most tempting bet if you wanted to side with the man from Hertfordshire.
Oddschecker spokesperson, George Elek: ‘A quite remarkable victory for Ian Poulter in Houston means he is now at least in the mix for the Green Jacket. However, the top of the market is looking particularly strong this year and he would need to play out of his skin to stand a chance.’
Ian Poulter!
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 1, 2018
A birdie on the final hole to force a playoff @HouOpen.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/HAiASKMHkI
