Ian Poulter equalled his lowest score on The European Tour with an eight under par 64 to lead a fiercely competitive field after the first round of the Volvo Masters Andalucia at Montecastillo Golf Club in Jerez.
The 25 year old collected six birdies and an eagle on a day of glorious sunshine and low scoring in the final tournament on the 2001 Volvo Order of Merit, then turned his attention to events several hundred miles away in another Spanish location.
Poulter’s elder brother, Danny, is taking part in Stage Two of the Qualifying School at Pals, chasing a place in the Finals next week while Ian fixes his sights on the £333,330 first prize at Montecastillo.
“I hope he shoots 64, too, which would help his chances” said Poulter afterwards. That proved wishful thinking as the elder brother fired a round of 68 to make the cut in 38th place at Pals.
Back in Jerez, Poulter played beautifully controlled golf to move ahead of Australian Peter Lonard, who shot a seven under par 65. The highlight of his round was a seven iron to 15 feet at the 16th which set up hi eagle three. He followed that with a 20 footer for a birdie at the next to come home in 31 blows.
He said: “I’ve felt pretty happy with my game and as I’ve progressed over the last couple of years it’s been a gradual process of getting my swing more on line. Every week it’s getting closer and closer.
“It’s been a long year for me, just missing out on The Ryder Cup. I’ve played a lot of tournaments and some weeks I’ve been playing while tired, but I’ve now had a lot of rest and come back and played pretty well.
“I had to give myself the best chance of qualifying for The Ryder Cup and so I made the decision to play every week. Obviously somewhere along the line it was going to hit me, and it did so after the qualification was over. Since then I’ve had some rest, worked on my game and I think it’s picked up again.”
Lonard, still seeking his first title on The European Tour, made an encouraging start with his 65. The 34 year old from Sydney missed out on the event in 1999 and 2000, due in no small part to problems with his eyes and wrist. As events transpired, an injury to one helped the other and led to a massive improvement in his game.
He explained: “I broke my wrist last summer and was out for 12 weeks. It worked out all right because I got laser treatment for my eyes while the wrist break mended. This is probably the first year since 1992 that I’ve played a full year without any interruptions.”
Paul McGinley of Ireland put in a strong finish, with an eagle at the 16th and a birdie at the 18th to vault over a number of places to end the day in third spot after a round of 66 while Adam Scott, winner of the first event in the year 2001 in South Africa, shot a 67 to give himself an opportunity to win the last counting event on the Volvo Order of Merit.
Also on 67 is Padraig Harrington, who currently leads the Reuters Official Performance Data Stroke Average Category from Volvo Order of Merit winner Retief Goosen, who opened with a 68.
The two players, who were partners in the first round, can hardly be separated and the duel should continue until Sunday as only one stroke divides them after the first 18 holes of this tournament.
Harrington's stroke average is 69,28 after 75 competitive rounds this season while Goosen's is 69.29. Harrington also leads the Greens in Regulation category while Seve Ballesteros, despite a round of 79, remains on course to land the Putts Per Round section.
Harrington said: “I am very pleased to finish five under because I don’t think my hands and arms knew what my body was doing today. I hit a lot of good shots and plenty of bad ones. However it’s a very important week and it wasn’t time to get down on myself.”
Goosen launched his week in dynamic fashion, with two birdies and an eagle in the first three holes to stand at four under par. However a double bogey six at the fifth halted his momentum. Despite picking up three more birdies he hit his second shot into water at the 16th and had to settle for 68.
“I started great then struggled with my swing for the rest of the round” he said. “I hope to have a low round tomorrow to move up the leaderboard. Nevertheless it’s a good opening round that gives me a good chance for the rest of the week.”
