Poulter teed off on a baking hot morning in the Southeast Asian city-state and made the most of good scoring conditions to fire a five-under 66 on the demanding Serapong Course.
Ian Poulter showed no signs of rustiness after a six-week layoff as the flamboyant Englishman fired six birdies to storm into an early lead at the Singapore Open on Thursday.
Poulter teed off on a baking hot morning in the Southeast Asian city-state and made the most of good scoring conditions to fire a five-under 66 on the demanding Serapong Course to sit one stroke clear of the field in the $5 million co-sanctioned event.
"I have had six weeks off so it was nice to ease into a round of golf and I didn't know what to expect," Poulter told reporters after he offset a lone bogey on the par-four first hole (his 10th) with a run of four birdies in five holes.
"I have practised pretty hard recently to get ready for what is now seven weeks on the bounce and after the bogey, I hit some good shots to give myself chances with a few holes to play."
Poulter completed his opening round before torrential rain halted play in the afternoon, and although he has yet to record a victory this season, he enters every tournament with the same confidence he has always displayed.
Reasonable shape
"I am always looking for a win, whether it's the European Tour, Asia or the PGA, I am looking to win every week," added the 33-year-old, who admitted to bringing seven pairs of golf shoes with him on the trip to Asia. "I have got myself in reasonable shape in the six weeks off and hopefully can have a strong finish to the year.
"As many balls as you hit on the range, you just don't know what to expect when you get on the course. "That's just the fourth round of golf I have played in seven weeks." Ending the year with a busy schedule, Poulter still has plenty to play for in the remaining weeks and will push to improve his ranking position on a number of fronts.
"I have seven tournaments remaining, of which five will be qualifying for Ryder Cup points," he added. "With that in mind, hopefully I can play really solid golf and I also have four tournaments that count towards the Race to Dubai. If I win or play solid, it gives me a chance to catch a lot of people and move up from 29th."
Content with his morning's work in Singapore, Poulter had no plans to head to the driving range in the afternoon, instead opting to get as much rest as possible.
"It's too hot to go and practice so I will just relax," he said. "I just played five hours and I have seven weeks of tournaments in a row. For me, it will be lunch, hotel and relax. "For the rest of the week I will just play golf though. No real plans, just hit he ball ... find it, hit it again and find it."
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