Tiger talk still resonating; biggest win of Poulter's career

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What a weird weekend. The Tiger Woods statement for which hundreds of media from around the world converged on Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., to sit in a room and watch him on television. The Camilo Villegas-Paul Casey semifinal match that took two days and 24 holes to complete. Ian Poulter winning on U.S. soil for the first time.

Three days later, Tiger Woods' 14-minute address to a hand-picked room of 40 people, roughly 300 members of the media gathered in a nearby hotel conference center and the rest of the free world still resonates.

So much so that PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem was still talking about it Sunday. The Commissioner said that he should have given the TOUR's membership more of a heads-up in terms of the timing, something that did not go over well with the players, especially Ernie Els.

Champion's Replay

Want to hear what Ian Poulter said about his win at the Accenture Match Play Championship? Click here Finals scorecard Poulter vs. Casey MORE • Final-round highlights • Shot of the Day • Final wrap-up • Complete tourney coverage

So much so that less than halfway through Ian Poulter's press conference following his first career TOUR victory at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, Poulter was asked if the Woods story somehow diminished or overshadowed his accomplishment. "Next question," Poulter said.

Speaking of Poulter, you have to wonder what this will do for his career. He's had at least four top-10s three of the last four years and has steadily climbed the Official World Golf Rankings from 34th in 2006, 22nd in 2007, 26th in 2008, 11th in 2009 and fifth as of this morning.

Poulter has become known perhaps more for all the clothing and Twitter stuff, but he also admitted that he felt that he'd underachieved up until the last couple of years. He's also a lot more comfortable with his game it appears, too.

"I've been a lot more nervous than what I was [Sunday]," Poulter said. "With nine holes to play in previous wins, I admit I've been nervous and I've been excited. [Sunday] I just felt calm and I felt that I could deliver whatever I needed to deliver."

No question Poulter will be one of the favorites come the British Open at St. Andrews.

Stock up

Ian Poulter: This has been a work in progress for Poulter. Two of the last three years, he's had five top-10s, which includes runner-up finishes at the British Open and THE PLAYERS Championship. His win Sunday came in his first TOUR event of 2010. FedExCup rank: 4 (N/A last week) Paul Casey: Two straight years Casey has reached the finals in Arizona and while he came up short in both, the last year-plus has been the best in his career. FedExCup rank: 13 (T94 last week) Camilo Villegas: If not for a missed 2-footer late Saturday, who knows if we'd be sitting here talking about Poulter getting his first career win in the U.S. I still think we would be, but Villegas annihilated Sergio Garcia in the consolation match and finished the week with a record six eagles. FedExCup rank: 31 (N/A last week)

Stock down

Sergio Garcia: Was it just me, or did Garcia look a little like he was simply going through the motions against Villegas? It didn't help that he was hitting balls all over the desert. FedExCup rank: T48 (T152 last week) Lucas Glover: You cannot lose in the first round...to Anders Hansen...blowing a 2-up lead halfway through the match in the process. It's still early in the season, but is Glover going to have the big year we thought he would with the way he finished 2009? FedExCup rank: 51 (52 last week) Hunter Mahan: For a guy who was pretty impressive the second half of last year -- four top-10s in his last 10 events of 2009 -- it's been a sluggish start to this season. Mahan was bounced in the first round of the Match Play and doesn't have a top-25 in four starts. FedExCup rank: T99 (T119 last week)

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. The biggest reason Poulter won this week, without question, was his putting. He poured in one putt after another on greens, while less severe than last year, still awfully tricky.

2. This was, of course, the first victory for Poulter on American soil. It was also his most prestigious and one a longtime coming for a guy who worked his way into golf from a pro shop in England. That work ethic was evident this week, too, with Poulter spending a couple of hours cutting and pasting detailed notes into his yardage book about the undulating and often deceiving greens at Dove Mountain.

3. Poulter didn't have too long to celebrate, though. He was on his way to Palm Springs, Calif., to shoot an ad for Cobra scheduled for 6:30 Monday morning when he texted "Yes sir," in response to the question of if he felt this was by far the biggest win of his career. Later, Poulter tweeted, saying, "World Number 5. How does that sound. Wicked."

4. Stat of the Week: Paul Casey, the other finalist, made 576 feet, 9 inches of putts; a record in the ShotLink era at the Accenture Match Play Championship. That should tell you something about Dove Mountain.

5. I'm not sure if this is a record, but Mike Weir made five putts of 26 feet or longer in his 8 and 6 win over Alvaro Quiros in the first round. No wonder Weir birdied nine of the first 10 holes. Part of the credit, according to Weir, was switching to a heel-shafted putter to get more swing out of the club.

6. Steve Stricker's first-round loss to Ross McGowan, who wouldn't have even been in the field had Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson entered, isn't as much a reflection on Stricker (though Dove Mountain doesn't suit his game great) as it is a another example of what can happen in match play. Anything.

7. Did anyone think there was any less drama at the Accenture Match Play Championship because two of the top three players in the world, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, weren't in the field?

8. It seemed like everyone had a comment about Woods' statement this week, from Olympians to the Dalai Lama. "Whether you call it Buddhism or another religion, self-discipline, that's important," he said. No word, however, on whether he told Woods that he would receive total conciousness.

9. "Tremendously tremendous" was how Eddie Olczyk described Sunday night's USA-Canada hockey game. Hard to argue with that. Hopefully my colleague Nick Zaccardi, a producer for PGATOUR.COM, got to see some of the highlights. He's on a freelance assignment at the Olympics and was covering men's bobsleigh during the game.

FROM THE MAILBAG (Click here to submit your question)

What do you think about Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee and his chances at the Masters or other majors or World Golf Championships events? -- Chol Udompanich

Here's all you need to know about Jaidee: When asked Sunday night who his toughest opponent of the week was, Poulter said, without much hesitation, Jaidee. As for Jaidee's chances at the Masters or other World Golf Championships events, I could certainly see him playing well somewhere. He tied for 13th at last year's British Open and tied for 19th at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. In 2006, he tied for ninth at the American Express Championship with a final-round 65.

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-3, 162-yard 16th at TPC Scottsdale THIS WEEK: It's just a simple 9-iron to a large green, but thousands of screaming fans add a wrinkle to the Kodak Challenge. Three people are tied at 3 under -- Matt Kuchar, Tim Clark and Brendan Pappas. Click here to tour the 16th | Current Kodak Challenge standings

The Forward Spin

This week's Waste Management Phoenix Open will be part rock concert part golf tournament, highlighted of course by the par-3 16th hole. I'm not saying this should be the atmosphere for every hole every week, but once a year (or even a few times a year) it's terrific. A year ago, Kenny Perry almost let this tournament get away before eventually beating Charley Hoffman on the third playoff hole with a 22-foot birdie putt. Perry will be back to defend, but one player tokeep an eye on is Ryan Moore. He was sixth there a year ago and should be well-rested after a first-round loss to Ernie Els last week.