Poulter makes early headway at Sawgrass

Published on Thursday 8 May 2008 22:41

IAN Poulter made a great start to claim a share of the lead halfway through his opening round at the Players Championship yesterday. Poulter, one of seven British players in the 144-man field, took advantage of his early tee time on a calm morning at the Sawgrass TPC.

Out in the first threesome of the day from the 10th tee, he picked up a birdie at the par-five 11th hole where he struck a wedge shot to within six feet.

He added another at the famous par-three 17th, with its island landing area, finding the heart of the green and running in an 18-footer.

Poulter picked up yet another shot at the par-four 18th after a precise second shot that threatened the flag before nestling seven feet away. He made the turn at three under, tied with American Heath Slocum and Spaniard Sergio Garcia.

Irishman Padraig Harrington also started nicely with birdies at the first two holes, before bogeying number four to slip back to one under. The only early British starter other than Poulter was Brian Davis, who was propping up the field in last place at five over through eight holes.

American Jason Gore pulled out after just four holes, apparently with a recurrence of an old back problem. He ran up a nine at the second hole and cut his losses two holes later after a double bogey which left him seven over.

Although the absence of Tiger Woods from Sawgrass this week will be severely felt by the fans, his rivals say their tournament preparations have been totally unaffected. "It wasn't a topic of conversation in the round of golf that we played today," said defending champion and American world No2 Phil Mickelson.

Seventh-ranked Jim Furyk said: "I don't think we look at this event and say, 'He's not here, now I have a better chance of winning.' You worry about yourself and your own game and getting yourself ready. I'm not really looking at the field. I'm thinking about what the golf course plays like and what I will have to do to get my game in shape to play this golf course. That's kind of the same every week." World No1 Woods, tournament champion in 2001, is still recovering after undergoing knee surgery and may not return to the PGA Tour until next month's US Open. However, his absence from the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass will certainly be reflected in this week's television ratings.

"The best player in the world, he creates a buzz, a stir (when he plays]," Furyk added. "There will be less people and media around and it will be tougher for the (television] producer to figure out who he's going to follow. Him being here or not doesn't really affect the rest of us or how we prepare, but it affects on a broader scale, television, how our viewers and fans look at the golf tournament because they want to see Tiger in the field."

British Open champion Padraig Harrington agreed Woods' absence had no bearing on his own tournament build-up. "It doesn't change my approach," said the Irishman.. "I've got to play my own game. If it comes down to it on Sunday and you're playing the 18th hole and you're a shot behind or a shot ahead, it doesn't really make any difference who's on the other side of the tee. It's going to be just as hard to beat that player as anybody else because if they're there, they're probably playing the best golf of their life."