IAN POULTER’S first experience of Turnberry almost saw him escorted off the premises, but he hopes his last could see him lifting the Claret Jug as Open champion.

"I’ve never seen the course before. I turned up at ten o’- clock on Sunday night and had a little look on the 18th green," explained Poulter, who was second behind Padraig Harrington at Birkdale last year.

"Security guards came out shouting ‘What are you doing? Get off!’ I said ‘It’s okay, I’m playing’. That was my first look and I almost got escorted off in a wagon, so that was nice.

"But the golf course is fabulous.

I played nine holes yesterday and then snuck out there this morning at 7am on the tenth tee with no-one about to play the back nine. It was very nice, I’m very impressed."

Poulter eventually finished four shots behind Harrington 12 months ago after the Irishman’s brilliant back nine of 32, but thought at the time his 15ft par putt on the 72nd hole could be vital.

He duly rolled it in to complete a superb 69 in the tough conditions and went on to make a superb Ryder Cup debut in September, fully justifying Nick Faldo’s decision to hand him a wildcard with four points out of five – Europe’s top points scorer at Valhalla.

And now the 33-year-old believes he can go one better than last year and end Britain’s ten-year wait for a major champion, Paul Lawrie being the last winner in the Open at Carnoustie in 1999.

"I’m not going out there having the mindset on Thursday morning ’I have to win, I have to win,"’ Poulter said. "I’m going out there to play a round of golf.

"Yes, I do have expectations to try to go one better than I did last year, but I will be pacing myself from Thursday to try to get in position to strike on Sunday afternoon.

"I wouldn’t say I played spectacular on Thursday, Friday, Saturday last year. I would say I just sort of found myself in a position where I was there, I was hanging about.

"I was in a position where, with good golf on Sunday, I could put myself into contention and that’s what I did.

We’ve all seen in the past guys can hang about and be in the top 25 or 30 and then strike Saturday afternoon and Sunday.

"Last year was a huge confidence boost and yes, I do believe I can go one step further.

We’ll have to see come Sunday night."