Poulter on song in Texas

Ian Poulter continued his impressive recent form today in the first round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational in Texas.

Poulter, second to Ryder Cup team-mate Henrik Stenson in the Players Championship earlier this month, carded an opening 66, four under par, at Colonial.

Starting from the 10th, Poulter birdied his opening hole and, after missing out on a birdie at the par-five 11th, made amends with another on the 12th.

The 33-year-old picked up another shot on the 16th to reach the turn in 32, and added a fourth on the third.

His only setback came with a double-bogey six on the fifth, but he bounced straight back with a birdie on the sixth and added another on the eighth.

That left Poulter alongside American’s Kevin Na and Steve Marino in the early clubhouse lead, although Vijay Singh and Woody Austin were both six under par approaching the end of their rounds.

England’s Greg Owen carded an opening 68 while Justin Rose was one under par after 12 holes.

Luke Donald began his round with an opening par while Paul Casey, winner of the BMW PGA Championship on Sunday, was among the later starters.