Poulter and Monty face early struggle

The richest event in golf failed to bring the best out of Ian Poulter and Colin Montgomerie in rainy Florida today.

The two Ryder Cup team-mates – one needing to finish in the top three to qualify for the Masters, the other trying to avoid the worst run of results of his career – could do no better than level par 72s when the £5m Players Championship began at Sawgrass.