Defending champion Ian Poulter is determined to continue his remarkable match play record at the Volvo World Match Play Championship.
The 36 year old Englishman has a formidable Ryder Cup record, as well as having won the WGC-Accenture Match Play and this event at Finca Cortesin 12 months ago.
“Match play is one of the games which I love to play,” said eighth seed Poulter, who faces Australian John Senden and Portugal Masters winner Tom Lewis in the first round. “I love the buzz of it. I love the fact that the holes tick away pretty quickly, and I like looking straight at the guys you're playing.
“I just like the buzz you get from it. It kind of puts you under pressure, and it's a great format, which we don't play enough of.
“John is a very consistent player, he hits a lot of greens in regulation. He will be a guy you will need to go out there and be patient, and try to pick your birdies.
“Tom is obviously a great young talent, winning last year, he's going to be an exciting player in the future and one that's going to be hard to play against this week.”
Poulter’s compatriot Justin Rose put his match play success down to his ability to hole clutch putts, but the 11-time European Tour winner feels everything about the format suits him.
“I get excited to play match play,” he added. “I like the fact of playing one on one with somebody. I like the pressure of you have to hole a putt to win the hole or you have to hole a putt to halve the hole, or you have to hole a putt to make your opponent hole his putt to halve the hole.
“I guess it's pretty cutthroat - you have to do something. It's black and white, if you miss, you lose the hole, dead simple. I like the fact of having been put under that pressure you know exactly what you have to do, where stroke play just doesn't give you that mind set, at all.”
