IAN POULTER: That wasn't bad, especially after starting with a bogey that really annoyed me, and frustrated me. I only had 99 yards to the green, and the pin was 24 yards on, and I should have played a link-style bump-and-run. But I took the aerial route, and it cost me a bogey. Then I horse-shoed out -- by the full 360 degrees - on the second, and I thought "hello, it's going to be one of those days!" But then I focussed well after that and we just seemed to plod along to a 65. I scrambled well when I had to, and took my chances well when I had them. Decent tee shots were the key to my score today.
I managed to keep warm out there -- I had hand-warmers under my gloves so that was fine. I think the longest birdie putt I had today was 15 feet, and it was a very nice approach shot to the 18th to set up the final one and a great score.
I didn't hit a golf shot for about nine days prior to this week. I felt a little tired after the Ryder Cup and felt I needed to rest. I didn't hit the ball very well on Monday or Tuesday, but had a decent practice round and session on the range on Wednesday and I have played well so far.
There's a nice little Ryder Cup grouping at the top of this leaderboard. It's great to see Luke and David up there with me, and it's great for England isn't it?
I think the Ryder Cup has pushed me on a bit, but in many ways you have to forget that week -- however much of a buzz it was. I want to win tournaments, and get World Ranking points to improve my position. It's lovely looking back at it, but you can't keep doing that -- you need to concentrate on the present. Depends on the weather what I need to do tomorrow -- perhaps seven or eight under if it is flat calm, and perhaps level par if it blows.
End of FastScripts.
