Poulter and Matsuyama end spat with handshake

Reuters
Mar 6, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Ian Poulter tees off from the 5th tee during the first round of the WGC - Cadillac Championship golf tournament at TPC Blue Monster at Trump National Doral. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

DORAL, Florida (Reuters) - Ian Poulter and Hideki Matsuyama shook hands before teeing off together in the third round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship on Saturday after the young Japanese golfer apologized to the Briton for damaging a green the previous day. Matsuyama incurred Poulter's wrath when he missed a short putt and slammed his putter into the 13th green during Friday's second round. The Englishman, who was playing in the group behind Matsuyama, later took to Twitter and labeled the 22-year-old Matsuyma an "idiot", saying he had "left a crater in the green for others to putt over." Paired together for the third round, Matsuyama sought out Poulter on the practice range on Saturday morning and, with the help of an interpreter, apologized to his playing partner as the two men shook hands. Both players had reached the midway point of the $9 million event at five-over par, six shots behind the leaders. (Reporting by Steve Keating in Doral. Editing by Julian Linden)