Turn of a coin robs Poulter

IT wasn’t quite decided by the flip of a coin but it will feel that way to Ian Poulter after he bizarrely lost the Dubai World Championship to Robert Karlsson on the second play-off hole.

The flamboyant Englishman potentially lost more than €416,000 — €303,452 in event prize money plus another €113,000 from the Race to Dubai Bonus Pool — when he marked his ball and then dropped it onto his “lucky” marker.

The ‘coin’ — a custom-made platinum token inscribed with the names of his children — flipped over. And as a result, Poulter was penalised a vital stroke under one of golf’s most arcane rules, effectively turning a thrilling finish to the European Tour season into a crushing anti-climax.