Substance starting to follow style for never-dull Poulter

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Forget the "harsh rule" at Dubai, just take note that Ian Poulter is getting in contention frequently these days.

Just for the record, it was a five-inch drop.

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More than enough to flip his marker tiddlywinks-style. Just enough to land a one-shot penalty and, of course, cost him a chance at a second win in as many weeks.

Harsh rule.

That's the way Ian James Poulter put it in yet another of his signature 140-character missives -- this one coming after a 17-hour non-stop flight from Dubai to Los Angeles. And, of course, after a spate of tweets from European Tour buddies like Lee Westwood, who couldn't wait to dig in on "sparrow legs" Poulter and his "diamond encrusted" lucky marker.

Poults? He posted a few thoughts, ordered room service and crashed. Losing a playoff to Robert Karlsson at the Dubai World Championship was history. Time to get his inner clock reset and ready for Tiger's tournament, better known as the Chevron World Challenge.

Anyone else notice that the man of everything plaid has suddenly grown into a world-class player before our eyes?

One minute he was the consummate grinder, known for his sartorial clothing choices, interesting hairstyles, verbal gaffes, tweets and his -- let's be honest -- cockiness. The next? He's No. 8 in the world and has us thinking a major could be around the corner.

Poults can be polarizing, yes. He has those wild eyes that take on a crazy look when he's wound up and fist-pumping his way around the course. Especially in his Union Jack pants. He's an unabashed cheerleader for the Euros in Ryder Cup years and doesn't always play the politically correct card either. But that's just him.

Brash. Fearless. In his clothing choices, his thoughts and his twitpics and twitvids. Seriously. Did anyone this side of the pond not chuckle when he ate Honey Nut Cheerios out of the Ryder Cup with his seriously cute kids? Fun moment and so Poults. The Brits harrumphed and were offended. Oh well.

For all the teasing about his plaids and subtle digs at his more conservative choices -- a black-and-white outfit had Westwood mentioning penguins -- Poulter is a two-tour, world player whose game has finally caught up with the 34-year-old's larger-than-life persona.

He's seriously predictable in his unpredictability. He battles the winds and hecklers at St. Andrews, then heads to the conservatory for a spot of tea and some cakes. Or bangs up his knee playing basketball and gives Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie another headache. Or pops off about something. Or wins the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship or the UBS Hong Kong Open.

In the last three weeks, he's done a 180. He's still fashion forward, but he's on a serious golf roll. He finished sixth (Barclays Singapore Open), first (Hong Kong) and second (Dubai) by that marker-flip. All that, of course, comes on the heels of a European Ryder Cup win. And two top-15 finishes in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, which was enough for Ryder Cup momentum, but not a spot in the TOUR Championship.

This year, he played the minimum on both sides of the Atlantic, finishing fourth on the European money list, 36th on the PGA TOUR. His ball-striking improved, his putting touch was exquisite -- at times.

The line? Ten European Tour wins, one WGC title. Just three top-10s in majors.

Yes, you remember that runner-up finish at the Birkdale. Kind of. Poulter played tremendous golf, but was lost in Padraig Harrington's third major and fiftysomething Greg Norman having nothing left in the final round.

Other than that? There was a share of ninth at the 2006 PGA Championship and a share of 10th at the 2010 Masters.

The question is, could this 2010 season-closing flourish signal a major change?

Poulter got this whole season of the Europeans going at Accenture when he beat fellow Englishman Paul Casey. We wondered if that would be the moment that changed everything for Poulter. The next step, if you will.

It was. And it wasn't.

The knee didn't help, but he was just okay for most of the season. That T-10 at the Masters and not much else. Unless, of course, you count his tweets, which were on-form all season.

Poulter stayed in the headlines for various reasons while Irishman Graeme McDowell won the U.S. Open, Germany's Martin Kaymer won the PGA and McDowell chased Kaymer to the Race to Dubai title.

Then this quick run.

We expect McDowell in Hong Kong and get a Poulter win. In Dubai, it's McDowell vs. Kaymer and we get Poulter racing toward another win -- until tiddlywinks.

"The coin was one way and the next minute facing the other way," Poulter said. "If it pitches in the middle, the coin doesn't move and it's fine, but it's pitched on the front and it's flipped over."

Yes, harsh rule. But a rule.

Poulter is the one player on total form going into the Chevron event. Even after that flight from Dubai. He's collected over one million loyal tweeps and a fashion-forward following. And, yes, he'll be grilled about all of that, plus the marker gaffe this week.

The question isn't whether he can handle that. He can. And lately with a smile.

What we'll be watching for is whether he can keep this roll going and give us one more reason to think of him as a major player heading into 2011.

Melanie Hauser is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM and can be reached at melaniehauser@gmail.com. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.