Rule change helps Poulter keep PGA Tour card

PGA Tour professional Ian Poulter

Ian Poulter has retained his PGA Tour card after a change in rules regarding medical exemptions.

Former Ryder Cup star Poulter has battled back from a foot injury this year, but the time spent away from golf left him short of the required FedEx Cup points or prize money to keep his place on the Tour.

However, the PGA Tour have stepped in and Poulter will stay on the tour for the remainder of the season, as will Brian Gay - who spent the 2014-15 season sidelined with a back injury and was facing the same predicament as the Englishman.

"Obviously it's quite a relief to know that I can play my schedule and plan my schedule for the rest of 2017," Poulter said.

Some great news.. A slight oversight in calculating the 2016-2017 points means I did actually earn enough points to keep my @PGATOUR card. pic.twitter.com/tyQQDpPsVu

— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) April 29, 2017

"I've got work to do to maintain my status for a regular season, but I'm in a very different situation today than what I was... being in kind of no-man's land, not knowing whether you're going to play golf, is very tough and very hard to book anything."