Ian Poulter will continue his love affair with Augusta when he tees off at golf’s opening major of the year this week.
The world No 31 heads to the Masters in strong form having produced a series of impressive displays on the Florida Swing, narrowly missing out on Honda Classic victory before producing solid performances at the Valspar Championship and Bay Hill.
Poulter’s recent run has boosted his hopes of being in contention to win his first coveted Green Jacket, although the two-time PGA Tour winner remains an outsider in a star-studded field at golf’s invite-only tournament.
Augusta remains one of the sport's great venues with its stunning views and instantly-recognisable holes, and Poulter admits it's an event the players love being a part of.
“Through the years it’s the hardest one to get into, everybody wants to put that coveted Green Jacket on and everybody loves that place an awful lot,” Poulter said. "It’s like playing the Open Championship at St Andrews; everybody who plays golf wants to win the Open and people have that feeling about Augusta National.
“Yes there’s a big wait between the PGA Championship (in August), but the guys have a lot of time to prepare and get their games ready, so there might be a little bit of extra pressure. It’s the first major of the year and people are excited to play there.
“It’s the type of golf course that’s changed just slightly over the years, but it’s the sort of place that everybody feels very comfortable as soon as they walk through the gates – they feel at home.
“It’s a place where the more you play it the more you enjoy it, and everyone has a love affair with Augusta National.”
Early memories
While Poulter is a regular visitor to golf’s opening major of the year, missing the Masters just once since making his debut 11 years ago, there are several players heading to Augusta for the first time this week.
India’s Anirban Lahiri and Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger both received maiden invites after strong starts to the European Tour season, while Shane Lowry and Danny Willett will also feature for the first time having broken in to the world’s top 50 at the end of last year.
Poulter finished tied-31st in his first appearance back in 2004 as Phil Mickelson claimed the Green Jacket, and still remembers fondly arriving at Augusta for the first time.
He said: “It gave me goosebumps! Once you get the invite through the post and you’re allowed to go through the gates and practice, it’s pretty incredible. It’s everything and more from what you’d expect.
“It is an amazing golf course to go and play and you can feel the tension, feel the electricity and you can feel the buzz from the second you get there to the second you leave.
“I don’t think anyone really realised the elevation changes, so as a first-timer you have to get used to that. The TV doesn’t do it justice and everybody that has been there will see what I mean.”
Final preparations
The majority of the Masters field have completed their Augusta build-up on the Texas Swing by featuring at either the Valero Texas Open or Shell Houston Open, but Poulter has spent his time away from the game on holiday in the Bahamas.
The short break brought an end to a busy six weeks which saw the Englishman play in five tournaments on the PGA Tour, with Poulter hopeful he has found the right pre-Masters schedule ahead of this year's event.
He said: "I’ve tried every type of formula I think. I’ve had two weeks off before, I’ve played as a run-in to the Masters, I’ve tried going for several days before the Masters week to try and get some extra prepping. I’ve tried everything and nothing’s worked!
"I’m obviously in good form, my statistics show that I’m playing really nicely, so I guess I need to be fresh and fit and ready to go."
Ian Poulter was speaking as Captain of the Ballantine's Golf Club, the first online, global golf club of its kind. Join for free for exclusive content and rewards.
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