Ian Poulter's next equipment company might surprise you

In a move that's kind of like breaking up with your girlfriend via text message, Ian Poulter last night announced via Twitter he no longer was affiliated with Cobra-Puma Golf.

I can officially say i am No longer a @cobragolf or @PUMAGolf endorsed player. I will let you know my New endorsement partners very soon.

— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) October 15, 2014 So let the guessing games begin. Educated guesses are often better when they start by eliminating possibilities, so here is where Poulter is unlikely to go. Given the money he may want, Mizuno (which already has Luke Donald to appease its European market) is unlikely. Adams is in transition so rule them out, too. Two companies that would appear to be a good fit have circumstances that would make a Poulter signing prohibitive. Nike would certainly seem to be a good cultural match, but Nike requires its athletes be head to toe and Poulter, who has his own apparel line, isn't going to don Nike's threads. Ping, which doesn't manufacture golf balls, would allow the Englishman to continue playing Titleist balls (Poulter tweeted his thumbs up of the new prototype Pro V1x), but the Phoenix-based company already has plenty of global strength with players such as Lee Westwood and Miguel Angel Jimenez, making the addition of another Euro with a big contract in the low probability range.