A sponsor’s invite has made England’s Ian Poulter an excited golfer as he returns to England for this week’s BMW PGA Championship.
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Poulter is one of a number of Englishmen looking to keep the trophy on home soil after Chris Wood’s win last year.
‘It’s great to be home,’ said Poulter, who joins Lee Westwood, Matt Fitzpatrick, Danny Willett, Andy Sullivan and 2016 Rio gold medallist Justin Rose in the field.
‘Great to be home. You know, a few weeks ago, I probably wasn’t coming, but obviously playing well at The Players meant I could talk to The European Tour, and they were kind enough to give me an invitation spot to come back and play golf.
‘So from a perspective for myself, extremely excited to be here this week. I haven’t seen the course as yet; I’ll have a look at it tomorrow.
‘But big thanks to The European Tour for holding that spot. And obviously it’s going to be a great week, so really, really looking forward to it.’
Poulter is eyeing a win on a course that has given him problems in the past, but is hopeful that the renovations will play into his hands.
‘It was very crucial,’ replied Poulter when asked if the changes to the West course were needed.
‘I think, you know, I’m probably not the best person to ask that question to, to be honest with you, my performances around this golf course are not as good as I would have liked them to have been.
‘It’s certainly a course – being a golf fan as a kid and walking around watching the greats play this golf course, it’s a tournament where I feel I should have played a lot better. Why I haven’t performed as well as I have around this golf course, I’m not really sure.
‘So I’m absolutely delighted that it’s been changed. I think the changes last time, on a number of holes, were too severe. I think obviously that’s why the guys have obviously spent a lot of time to try and figure out what’s going to make it a great golf course.
‘But I’m personally very pleased that it has been changed, and because of that, I’m extremely excited to go out there and play tomorrow, because I would love to walk out of Wentworth Golf Club and say, I absolutely love it.’
Poulter’s 2017 resurgence has not gone as far as to book him a place in June’s US Open. A win this week will change that …
