ABU DHABI // While the world No 10 Rory McIlroy prepares to start his global golf schedule in Abu Dhabi tomorrow, Florida-based Englishman Ian Poulter believes his strong showing on both the European and the US PGA Tours last season is attributable to a reduced travel itinerary. Poulter, the flamboyant world No 12, played 32 tournaments last year - 15 in Europe and 17 in the US - and finished the season with career-high earnings on both Tours, a champion's trophy at November's Singapore Open and second-place at The Players' Championship at Sawgrass.
In contrast, three years earlier, he competed in 37 events, including 22 on the European Tour, earned substantially less money and managed victory only at the Madrid Masters. "It's very difficult to play a global schedule, travel as much as you can and perform at a high level," said Poulter. "I travelled a lot less last year than I did in previous years and found out that I had my best year ever. I probably plan to play the same amount of tournaments as I played last year [although] it may change depending on how the start of the year goes."
Poulter's year gets under way tomorrow at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship when he tees off alongside Camilo Villegas and Soren Hansen, and the 34-year-old, who has managed two top-10 finishes in his past two appearances at the National Course, says that despite Florida's uncharacteristically chilly weather, he is ready to bloom in the Gulf. "The last couple of weeks have been a bit fresh in Orlando so I probably haven't done as much as I really wanted to get done, but I'm still hitting fine and looking forward to these two weeks in the desert," he said. "I like the golf course from what I can remember [Poulter missed last year's event through injury] and I'm looking forward to getting out there."
The UAE capital is also set to bear witness to many of the Tour's most high-profile players' first competitive tournament using new groove-regulated irons. The United States Golf Association introduced a rule at the beginning of the year that has seen the volume of grooves on lofted clubs downsized. The aim is to reduce backspin and increase stopping distance. Poulter says he expects the implementation to benefit "people who have got imagination with the short game" and intends to study the effects at length while playing today's Pro-Am. He also reveals he may alter other parts of his game to combat the rule change.
"I've been practising and there's definitely a little bit of a difference - the ball is definitely releasing out in chip shots," he said. "I've actually considered going to a slightly harder ball because there is one that goes five yards further, which therefore should leave me a shorter iron into the green. "But if you're missing the greens, it's probably not going to make much difference to be honest - with these grooves the ball won't stop as well anyway."
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