Poulter driven out

Ian Poulter announced his withdrawal from the Barclays Singapore Open today after failing to get a replacement driver in time for the tee-off of the Asian Tour event.

The Englishman had his driver stolen during the HSBC Champions in Shanghai last week and would not have received a replacement before the end of the second round on Friday evening.

As a result, Poulter opted not to play in the $5m (€4m) event, the richest national open in Asia.

“I am really gutted. I have been thinking about it for four hours and I have decided to withdraw because my new driver will not arrive on time,” said Poulter.

“It is disappointing because I did not come all this way not to play. But with so many world ranking points at stake, if I played badly I may have lost ground.”

Tournament organisers announced Anirban Lahiri of India will take Poulter’s place in the field.