Not even a seismic shift could put Ian Poulter off his game yesterday, as the Englishman brushed off the 2.8-magnitude tremor that rattled through town to post a scintillating 10-under-par second-round 60 to claim a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the UBS Hong Kong Open.
'I bent over on the 14th tee and wondered what it was,' Poulter said. 'I was just about to pick my ball up and I did feel a little tremor. It just felt tiny. It was a bit strange, but it didn't put me off.'
Put that down to the bullish mood that lifted Poulter out of bed yesterday. Following a first-round three-under-67 that he described as 'unacceptable', Poulter delivered a battle-cry-like 'come on' on his popular Twitter account before taking to the Fanling course.
And a matter of hours later the Englishman had edged an enthralling battle with playing partner Rory McIlroy to top the leaderboard at 13-under-par, a shot clear of Korean-American Anthony Kang, whose flawless nine-under 61 was equally as eye-catching on another sun-drenched day at the Hong Kong Golf Club.
McIlroy, meanwhile, said he was shaken by the events that unfurled on the 14th tee. 'To be honest, my legs were like jelly over the tee shot,' he said after shooting a four-under 66 that was cursed by a double-bogey on the last. 'I've never felt one of those before.''
But Poulter was all calm before, during and after the event, draining birdies at will and thereby putting himself in pole position.
