Poulter feeling 'comfortable' on golf course

Abu Dhabi : Ian Poulter, who shared the lead in the opening round with a seven under 65 but slipped with a second round score of two under 70 to finish tied, bounced back yesterday with a solid round of five under 67 and stayed within striking distance of leader Martin Kaymer.

Poulter started with three successive birdies from hole two but bogeyed the fifth before ending his front nine three under and then came up with two more birdies including one on the 18th hole to finish 14 under overall.

The Englishman, who has been working extra on his 20-plus-foot putts, said he feels comfortable going into the final round. "I'd like the adrenaline going early. I feel comfortable on the golf course right now. When most parts of your game are good, then you should be able to feel very comfortable on the golf course, that's what I feel right now and we can go out there tomorrow and have a bit of fun."

Poulter said he focused more on putting from the time he arrived here on Tuesday.

"During the off-season I decided to be more focused when I do the practice putting. So when I got here on Tuesday, working on 15, 20 and 25 foot putts. My putting stats from inside eight feet are very good. So I have to look at other areas, which were poor certainly the 15, 20 and 25 foot area," said Poulter, who ended the day one leader with a 70-feet putt on the final hole.

Commenting on his round of 67 yesterday, Poulter said, "It was nice to birdie 2, 3 and 4. I gave one back on 5, which was a shame because I hit a good drive and good 5-wood to about 40 feet and 3-putted there. And from there, I kept hitting good golf shots, kept giving myself chances, a couple slid by and it's nice to close out on the last."

"I am very happy, it should be good fun tomorrow afternoon with Rory and Martin," said Poulter, and it certainly will be the group to follow today.