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DUBAI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY DP WORLD

November 22, 2009

Ian Poulter

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Q. What was the secret to success today?
IAN POULTER: Just go out and have fun. I've never played with Robert and it was nice to go out there and have a chat, relax, play golf, and I played solid yesterday, no bogeys, done the same today and started to roll a few putts in. So it was nice to start running up that board.

Q. Excited about your form, a win in Singapore, here, going into the World Cup with Ross Fisher?
IAN POULTER: I can't wait. It's going to be good fun. Ross and myself have been chatting about it for a little while now. It will be good to get there, have a couple of days' rest. I think I will probably wait until Wednesday before going out on the course and go out and have some fun and see what we can do.

Q. Give us a brief word for Lee Westwood, doing some incredible stuff out there?
IAN POULTER: It's nice to see. He has the bit between his teeth this week and he's making plenty of birdies and he looks hungry for it and all the best to him.

Q. How much are you looking forward to next year now, obviously majors coming around again in April?
IAN POULTER: Yeah, pretty excited. Obviously I'm in good form. Really like to take a few weeks off after Shark Shootout, put my feet up and come out real strong and fresh for next year. Get in the gym and do some good practise.

Q. One of your Top-10 rounds of the year?
IAN POULTER: Yeah, for sure. No mistakes. 7, if and buts and could have been, could have been a few more. Played lovely, played really, really solid. Hit it great. No great dramas. One great up-and-down on the par 34, I think it is. Plugged it in the face of that bunker and it was not a good lie and managed to up-and-down it. So that was the only drama and managed to get away with it.

Q. How many events after World Cup?
IAN POULTER: Tiger's. Three and counting.

Q. World Ranking points in Tiger's?
IAN POULTER: I've been told yes, and a couple days ago I've been told no. So I don't know what's happening. It would be nice if there is.

Q. Thought they changed it this year.
IAN POULTER: So did I. But I got told two days ago there is no World Ranking points, in talking in the players' lounge. Not so sure really.

Q. When do you start next year?
IAN POULTER: Don't know yet. I'm going to be in the States January 1, but I'll be practising and getting ready for -- I'm going to take three weeks off with no golf and then I'm going to start working on the range for a good couple of weeks. So just need to see where we are going to be after today and see where we want to start really.

Q. Would you have played in Tiger's event if you had known definitely there was no ranking points in it? That was one of the incentives, isn't it?
IAN POULTER: I didn't enter it because there was World Ranking points. I entered it because it gets me back on soil that I can get home quicker on Sunday night so I can see the kids. That's one of the reasons. It's a great tournament. I've watched it on TV, as I have the Million Dollar, and so you know, it's a 50/50. Where do you go and play golf?
I just chose to go back where I can get closer to the kids really. I mean, there's small World Ranking points to be won; if you finish outside of the top six, you'll lose ground. It's one of those. You've got to play well still to pick up points and if you don't play well, then you won't pick up any points. You'll go backwards. So swings in roundabouts.

Q. Does Lee look hungrier than you've seen him in a long time?
IAN POULTER: Yeah, he looks hungry for it. Whether he's looking at leaderboards like he said he isn't, I don't know. Because I'll be having a sly little look if it was me. If he isn't, it's obviously working and he needs to keep doing it.
But no, he looks hungry for it. I think he was disappointed last week, coming away there without anything really. He lost a little bit of ground but he's come here, he's worked hard and he looks, from the golf that I've seen and the small coverage that I have seen, he looks very hungry for it. He's fist pumping, he's getting into it very early. I think he'll drive this home quite easily on the back nine to be honest.

Q. Looking confident.
IAN POULTER: It's nice. He's back where he was ten years ago. The highest he had ever been before was 4. I think if he wins today, he might go 3; am I right? He stays 4 but it will go close to 3 I would think.

Q. They were looking at Tiger's event to go 3?
IAN POULTER: Okay. There you go. Potentially he could finish the year off in a position where he's never been before. So it's nice. He's back to his best. He's swinging it great. His iron play is great and he's holing a few putts. So he's happy.

Q. Get in a Formula I car this week?
IAN POULTER: I didn't in the end. They didn't quite have it all ready. Still getting a lot of stuff sorted around that track. So next time I come out, I'll definitely be going out in the Formula I.

Q. Been in one before?
IAN POULTER: Twice. A couple of times. The track is amazing. We got taken out in a GTR by a race driver, had a few laps. The circuit is amazing, Abu Dhabi. Brilliant, really, really good.

Q. A theory on this group of English players coming through?
IAN POULTER: Keep getting better, and more of them.

Q. Is it just coincidence?
IAN POULTER: No, I haven't thought about it. No idea really. Are they all maturing?

Q. Some.
IAN POULTER: Some. Don't know. I don't know actually. We don't know.
I think any time you see one of your fellow mates playing good golf, yeah, it gives you a little push to play well, that is for sure. You know, whether it's a tiny bit -- makes you feel a little jealous or whatever, makes you a bit hungrier, that's all good.

Q. Is this one of your sort of best years in terms of --
IAN POULTER: Best for sure.

Q. Short game and everything else?
IAN POULTER: I think best year for sure. Way more consistent. Barely finished outside the top 20. Three missed cuts I think for the year. Trying to go through it, and mainly every week in the top 20. So, yeah, really solid. Very happy with my game.

Q. Just the way you're finishing --
IAN POULTER: Six weeks off was needed. You don't realise how valuable it is to get away, put the clubs away and go do some fitness work and come out and start it very strong. Winning Singapore, not great; HSBC, but then fifth and wherever that's going to finish today, Top-10 hopefully. Yeah, it's good to take time off and recharge.

Q. Is there something specific that will take you further or little things?
IAN POULTER: I'll have a look at the areas that I don't think I've done as well as I probably should have done this year.

Q. Which is what?
IAN POULTER: I want to hit it a little further. Hence, spending five or six weeks in the gym, in that six weeks off, I'll get back in the gym pretty hard and try and work hard towards hitting it further.
Look at the guys most weeks on the leaderboard, they are hitting it, carrying it 295 and it definitely makes it a lot easier to perform for sure. So any time I can get an extra 15 yards will be very handy.

Q. How far behind, say, Lee or Rory?
IAN POULTER: Rory is sneaky. I was up when I was playing with him and then when he decided he really wanted to hit one, he was 30. It's nice to have that in the locker really. He moves it 15, 20 yards right-to-left in the air and he's got another gear. I mean, it's quite impressive to see. Lee is 20 yards in front, a good 20 yards. So that would be very handy if I can nick a couple.

End of FastScripts

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