IAN Poulter is no stranger to controversy, but there was no arguing with his performance in the opening round of the Masters.Poulter electrified Augusta National with a hole-in-one that catapulted him to the top of the leaderboard early in the first round, his eight-iron from 154 metres at the par-three 16th hole hopping into the hole to a roar of approval from the gallery.
"I flushed it, and I knew I had to flush it," Poulter said.
"I knew when it came off the club it was going to be pretty good."
Poulter said the reaction from the fans lining the left side of the hole was an "unbelievable buzz".
"It`s an instant adrenaline rush," Poulter said.
"It`s probably the biggest adrenaline rush I`ve had. It was a great buzz."
Poulter said the rush accounted for his misstep at the next hole, where he overhit his approach and took bogey.
"I had 191 yards (173 metres) to carry the bunker on 17. I`m on the upslope, so the ball should come out shorter, and it was into the wind. I hit a six-iron on normal conditions 182 yards.
"So to hit a five-iron and go that far, it can only be down to adrenaline. It was bizarre how it flew 203 yards."
Poulter was the centre of controversy in January after he suggested in a magazine interview that he alone was capable of taking on Tiger Woods, although the 32-year-old Englishman insisted his remarks were misconstrued.
"I think I`ve weathered it pretty good," said Poulter, who was clearly wearied by having to revisit the issue.
"I wasn`t comparing anything to Tiger ... I wasn`t going to say I was going to go win 84 tournaments on the PGA tour - I haven`t won one yet. To be compared to him was a little unfair.
"I was basically saying how good Tiger was, and how achievable I really think it is to get to the No.2 spot, and if you play well over a year period or even a two-year period, you can get there. That`s what I`m trying to achieve right now."
He insisted his fellow pros didn`t take issue with his comments.
"Amongst the guys it was friendly banter to be honest," he said.
"But to open the newspaper and see the comments in there ... I wasn`t comparing anything to Tiger. To be compared to him was kind of a little unfair.``
Poulter said the affair didn`t send him into the Masters feeling he had something to prove.
"I just wanted to play good golf," he said.
"It`s not about proving anybody wrong. I fully believe in my own ability. That`s down to me to go out and just play good golf."
Poulter said that`s exactly what he did during the opening round.
"It was pretty much a flawless ball-striking round of golf," he said.
"I`d like to think I was probably closest to the hole on a lot of shots out there, compared to the field.
"It`s probably one of the best rounds of golf I`ve ever played. I wouldn`t want to put the ball in many different places than where I was today."
Agence France-Presse
