Poulter defends remaining Match Play stars

Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Darren Clarke, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh have all gone. And Ernie Els, the other member of the world’s current top four, never came.

But Ian Poulter has stuck up for the eight players who today contested the quarter-finals of the Accenture World Match Play Championship in California - himself included.