Poulter travels 12,000 miles, taking 34 hours...then somehow bags a 66!
Ian Poulter had his 43rd birthday last week but clearly isn’t ready to turn his back on the jet-set lifestyle just yet. after finishing off in Hawaii on Sunday, the englishman flew halfway round the world to make it in time for the start of the abu Dhabi HSBC Championship yesterday. after 34 hours door to door, flying a distance of 12,000 miles and battling a 14-hour time difference, it was hardly surprising he didn’t know what day it was, let alone what time, after his first round. the most remarkable thing of all, however, is you wouldn’t have known any of it looking at his scorecard, as he took his place among the high flyers following an astonishing six-under-par 66. When he tapped in for birdie on the 18th green, it was 2.30am, Honolulu time. ‘Yeah, it feels like it,’ said Poults. ‘My idea was to score as low as I could as quickly as I could and then hold on, and it worked out like that. ‘the last five holes, it felt like I was playing after having a few beers, which I hadn’t done.’ a few minutes later, a more refreshed-looking lee Westwood finished on the same mark, as the 45-year-old continued the pleasing revival that began in the middle of last year and saw him return to the winner’s circle in november at the nedbank Challenge in South africa. Westwood sounds a different golfer these days, and a lot of the credit must be given to mental coach Ben Davies — a protege of Steve Peters, who wrote the bestselling psychology book The
Chimp Paradox — whom he started working with a year ago. the best score of the day came in the easier morning conditions, when Ireland’s Shane lowry equalled the course record and the lowest score of his career with a fabulous 62. It was his reward for coming to the Middle east early and doing a fortnight’s boot camp, hitting thousands of practice balls in readiness for the new season. lowry is a man with an 18-month plan. never mind that it might be a distant speck on the horizon and most of the players will not have given it a second’s thought. For lowry, you cannot start thinking too early about the 2020 ryder Cup. He has worked out a schedule between now and Wisconsin next year that he hopes will culminate in making countryman Padraig Harrington’s team. ‘I’ve never played the ryder Cup and obviously would like to at some stage, but to play with Padraig as my captain would be unbelievable,’ he said. accordingly, lowry will give up playing in america this year and concentrate on rebuilding his career in europe, following a disappointing time in the united States last season. ‘I could have got a few starts out there and a few invites to play as well, but my focus for the next 18 months is on making that team,’ said the 31-year-old. World no 2 Brooks Koepka began with a 67 while tommy Fleetwood, playing alongside him, and no 3 Dustin Johnson opened with rounds of 69.