- Ian Poulter stormed to near the top of the Turkish Airlines Open leaderboard
- Poulter is looking his old self again, after shooting 66 in his first round in Antalya
- Poulter, who is tied sixth, clocked five birdies to sit two shots off lead
- The lead is held by Nicolas Colsaerts, Haydn Porteous and Joost Luiten
Out of all the traumas of 2017 has come some late relief for Ian Poulter, who stormed to the upper reaches of the Turkish Airlines Open leaderboard on Thursday.
It was only in April that he thought he had lost his PGA Tour card after cascading all the way to 207 in the world, before being told it was a clerical error and he was still in. That reprieve jolted his form and at world No 54 he is looking his old self again, particularly here in Antalya, where his impressive round of 66 has him sixth.
Poulter clocked five birdies and no bogeys to sit two shots off the lead, which is held by the trio Nicolas Colsaerts, Haydn Porteous and Joost Luiten.
Ian Poulter shot 66 in his first round at the Turkish Airlines Open and sits two shots off the lead
Poulter leads the English charge alongside Eddie Pepperell after the first round in Antalya
Poulter is looking his old self again after dropping to 207th in the world rankings
Poulter said: ‘I didn’t hit the ball very well on Tuesday afternoon when I was here practicing for six hours on the range. But you know, just going through old notes and working through the basics of what I need to do to hit the ball well seemed to work on Wednesday, and I hit it great here.
‘I want to move up in the world rankings. That’s something that’s going to be quite important to me by the end of the year, and obviously if I can have a big couple of weeks, and then have a big week in Dubai, who knows how far I can move up.’
Poulter leads the English charge alongside Eddie Pepperell, while Padraig Harrington produced his best golf of the year to sit fourth on six under, having foregone the luxuries of the modern golfer by arriving via a budget airline and paying £45 to bring his clubs.
Harrington said: ‘The reason I’m here is because if you win, it puts you right there for the Ryder Cup. If I won one it would change my schedule next year and mean you have a great chance of making the team. It would kind of be in your hands.’
Tommy Fleetwood, who is leading the Race to Dubai, is 42nd after shooting level par, while Justin Rose, his closest rival in the overall standings, is two shots better off after a 69. Lee Westwood is four under after picking up two strokes in his final four holes for a 67.
Padraig Harrington produced his best golf of the year to sit fourth on six under par
Nicolas Colsaerts, Haydn Porteous and Joost Luiten are tied in the lead on seven under
Swedish golfer Henrik Stenson takes a shot from the woodland during his opening round