Ian Poulter targets first victory since 2012

Poulter has previously made no secret of his dislike for Wentworth, especially after the controversial redesign by Ernie Els in 2010.

"I don't like this golf course. Period. End of story," the Ryder Cup star said on his way to finishing 18th in 2011. "It's a very difficult golf course, especially now it's been redesigned. It's not fun."

The condition of the greens also came in for criticism from the likes of Luke Donald and Justin Rose, with two-time winner Donald suggesting in 2015 they needed replacing for the second time in six years.

Donald got his wish when an extensive renovation programme began just eight days after Chris Wood's victory last year, with all 18 greens stripped of their old turf and reseeded with a new type of grass.

The greens on the eighth, 11th, 14th and 16th were completely rebuilt and another five - the third, fourth, fifth, 12th and 15th - were partially rebuilt, while a sub-air system as used at Augusta National was installed under all 18 greens.

All of the bunkers were redesigned and a total of 29 removed, with a combination of those changes - and no doubt the £5.4million prize fund - helping to ensure Open champion Henrik Stenson will make just his second appearance in seven years in one of the European Tour's flagship events.

World number 16 Tyrrell Hatton, who finished seventh last year, described the new greens as "100 times better" and Poulter is hoping they can help him build on his runners-up finish in the Players Championship earlier this month.

"I'm very much looking forward to getting out on the course to have a look, because this tournament deserves a golf course in fantastic condition," said Poulter, who was 26th on his last appearance here in 2014.

"It has been pretty much a flagship event for a very long time. It's the home of the Tour. Everyone knows Wentworth and it really should be one of the best courses on the rota that we play.

"Being a golf fan as a kid and walking around watching the greats play this golf course, it's a tournament where I feel I should have played a lot better. Why I haven't performed as well as I have around this golf course, I'm not really sure.

"So I'm absolutely delighted that it's been changed. I think the changes last time, on a number of holes, were too severe. The greens were bumpy, I don't think that's a secret to anybody."

Finishing second at Sawgrass lifted Poulter from 195th in the world rankings to 80th and sealed his place in the end-of-season FedEx Cup play-offs on the PGA Tour, meaning he could accept an invite from the European Tour to play the first Rolex Series event this week.

"I can't emphasise how big a week it was," the 41-year-old added. "To take care of my playing rights over there, to make a big move in the world ranking position, to enable me to travel back across the pond to play this week, to be able to play a string of events in Europe this summer, was something I really, really wanted to do.

"Now I'm in a position to do so, so from a mindset perspective I'm in a really good frame of mind. And when you're in a good frame of mind, generally good things happen."

As recently as last year the future of this event had been in serious jeopardy, with Wentworth residents in dispute with the club's new owners and European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley dismissing its "flagship" tag in favour of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

That did not go down well with long-time Tour sponsors BMW, but Pelley believes the future is now bright on all fronts. 

"It's amazing what has transpired in just a year, when you think back about the challenges that we were having, mainly around the golf course and players not satisfied with the greens," Pelley said.

"We had pretty serious conversations with (Wentworth owners) Reignwood and BMW, who were concerned whether we would be able to continue with the BMW PGA Championship here if we didn't make significant improvements to the golf course.

"I think now we have an iconic golf course which matches what this iconic venue is. And now we can focus and concentrate our attention to plans for having this tournament here for the next 10 years, as opposed to just worrying about the golf course.

"The BMW contract is to the end of 2018. We're confident that both parties will reach an agreement to move forward.

"The Wentworth Residents Association and the club have come to an agreement in principle and now we are going to spend the next couple of months working through some of the details and hopefully announce an extension of the tournament in the coming months."