Poulter claims Valderrama win

Ian Poulter's victory at the European Tour season finale on Sunday continued his run of winning at least one tournament a year since joining the circuit in 2000 and was just reward for improvement in most parts of his game.

The 28-year-old from Milton Keynes has a justified reputation for flamboyance but he takes his golf deadly seriously as the Americans found to their cost at this year's Ryder Cup in Detroit.

He also boasts a formidable winning instinct when the finishing post is in sight - an error off the tee from Sergio Garcia, his Oakland Hills team-mate, in their 18th-hole play-off on Sunday was just the opportunity Poulter relishes.

Poulter has shown in 2004 that he is curbing his earlier taste for risky and often outrageous shots. The Reuters Stats from the four days in Spain mirrored his all-round improvement during the year.

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On one of the most challenging courses on the circuit, full of undulating fairways and fast, tricky greens, Poulter put together rounds of 71, 67, 69 and 70 for seven under par.

He ranked fifth in driving accuracy with a 69.3% success rate, finding 39 of 56 fairways over the four days.

Poulter made 47 of the 72 greens in regulation (65.3% and sixth overall), a statistic which would have been considerably higher but for his second round when he managed to hit just nine.

His Friday, though, was rescued with easily his finest display of the week on the greens with just 23 putts over the 18 holes.

Poulter's sixth Tour win included just nine bogeys during the week, 16 birdies and 47 pars, excluding his winning four at the play-off hole.

He finishes the season with a best-ever stroke average of 70.7, and his driving accuracy (63.9%), driving distance (288.2 yards) and greens in regulation (69.8%) are all improvements on previous years.

On the greens, though, this has not been a vintage campaign for Poulter. He averaged 29.6 putts a round in 2004, over half a stoke more than in 2003 and his worst return since joining the Tour.

If he can get that part of his game right, Poulter, who finished ninth on the Order of Merit with winnings of �1,060,216, can only build further on this impressive triumph.

Information provided by Reuters Stats