Poulter has car towed at Torrey Pines

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Ian Poulter picked the wrong place to park at dinner and wound up getting his courtesy car towed.

Poulter and caddie Terry Mundy went to a Korean barbecue restaurant Friday night during the Farmers Insurance Open, and when they left the restaurant, Poulter first thought that his courtesy car had been stolen.

"There were 60 spots in the car park. We walked 40 yards to a restaurant, but apparently that restaurant that we ate in wasn't quite in the vicinity of where I should have parked," Poulter said Saturday after moving within three shots of the lead at Torrey Pines. "The kind security guard who was standing by my car as I parked waited until I left and then called a tow truck to tow it away so he could make some money.

"I told him my car had been stolen," Poulter added. "He said, 'Nope, we towed it away.' I said, 'That was awfully nice of you.' A few similar words."

His night wasn't over. Poulter was given a slip of paper with information how to retrieve the car. But because it wasn't his car, he couldn't claim it.

"Obviously, we sign a nice piece of paper in the office that says we drive the car for the week, so I've got no documents that says this is my vehicle," he said. "I had to leave it there and get a taxi. Uber to the rescue."

Poulter said he turned over the towing information to the tournament office, which took it from there.

"It was brilliant, because my caddie told me to park there," Poulter said.

That apparently wasn't the only car incident Friday night. Steve Wheatcroft said on Twitter he was rear-ended driving to dinner in Del Mar.