Ian Poulter admits he has far more miles on the clock than his coveted collection of sports cars but the 43-year-old insists he still has plenty left in the tank.
Poulter recently joined other Ferrari 288GTO owners on tour in southern France before gearing up for seven tournaments in the space of eight weeks, starting with the £5.5million Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in Lahinch.
"It did very well for a car that's 35 years old and only travelled 2,400 miles in those 35 years," motorsport enthusiast Poulter said of the trip which ended in Casino Square in Monte Carlo. "I put 600 miles on the clock, so we've taken it to 3,000 miles.
"When you've got a passion for cars and you sit there looking at it, not really driving it over the five years I've had that car, it was nice to stretch its legs with some of its brothers and sisters and enjoy three, four days away with it.
"I had my wife Katie sitting next to me so didn't reach top speed. She's not the best of passengers, so I tried to be careful around those mountain roads."
Poulter had gone almost six years without a win before his victory in the Houston Open last April but went on to help Europe regain the Ryder Cup in Paris and started 2019 with four top-six finishes in his first six events.
He was also in contention at the Masters before hitting his tee shot on the 12th into Rae's Creek and believes he can still compete at the highest level.
Let's do this @DDFIrishOpen. Love being in Ireland to play in front of these awesome crowds.. 👍🏼🇮🇪🍀❤️ https://t.co/f9Mf8zUcT4 — Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) July 2, 2019
"I've got plenty of miles on the clock but I don't look at it as having to kind of make hay as much as possible because I know there's going to be a slowdown coming in a few years' time," Poulter added. "I'm not really viewing it like that.
"I'm kind of viewing it like I want to push on. I want to try and get as high up as I possibly can in the world rankings by enjoying my golf, by being more relaxed, by being more focused.
"I can still win tournaments. I can still compete week in, week out. I've been on the board a lot this year.
"I've been disappointed by the way I've finished a load of tournaments off but because of that it keeps the energy level, it keeps spurring me on because I know there's better stuff coming.
"It's quite exciting being 43 and playing some of the best golf I've ever played. Knowing you can mix it with some of the young players is great."
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