Ian Poulter’s birdie takes Tavistock

IAN Poulter birdied the first hole of a play-off to lift Albany past Lake Nona in the Tavistock Cup, ending Lake Nona’s winning streak at four in the team tournament.

Poulter shot an even-par 72 at Isleworth, then teamed with Tiger Woods in the best-ball play-off against Lake Nona’s Graeme McDowell and Henrik Stenson.

Albany tied Lake Nona at seven over, with Woods and Tim Clark shooting 73, and Justin Rose finishing with a 77. The event was shortened to one day of stroke play because of the Monday finish in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

McDowell had a 71 to lead Lake Nona. Ross Fisher had a 72, Stenson shot 74, and Peter Hanson 78. Primland and Isleworth tied for third at 8 over, Oak Tree was 12 over and Scotsman Martin Laird’s Queenwood 20 over. Primland’s Webb Simpson had the best round, shooting 70.

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy will bid to regain his world No 1 ranking from Woods ahead of the Masters in this week’s Shell Houston Open. Woods returned to the top on Monday for the first time since October 2010 after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his third tournament victory of the year. However, the American will not play again until the first major of the year, the Masters, which begins in Augusta on 11 April.

It gives McIlroy the chance to move back to the top of the pile at the Augusta-like Redstone Golf Club, but to do so he must beat a strong field that includes last year’s winner Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Keegan Bradley, Brandt Snedeker and Lee Westwood.

If, however, McIlroy does not win in Houston, he looks set to carry a relatively lower profile going into the Masters, but that is something he admits he would relish as he looks to find his form after a difficult start to 2013. “I didn’t think I could go into the Masters under the radar,” McIlroy told pgatour.com. “I can go in a little bit underneath him [Woods]. So, in a way, it’s not a bad thing.”

The Northern Irishman pulled out of the Honda Classic midway through his second round earlier this month after missing the cut at Abu Dhabi and losing in the first round of the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, but he then shot 65 in the WGC Cadillac Championship three weeks ago and believes he is near to overcoming his dip in form.

“We’re not machines. We’re humans. We go through highs and lows,” McIlroy said.

The winner of the Houston Open will earn the penultimate “win and you’re in” invitation to the Masters if he is not already eligible, with the top 50 players in the world also earning invites.