ORLANDO, Fla. -- This was one of those days where Ian Poulter didn't take joy in walking into the closet to pick out one of his colorful outfits.
The violet pattern on his pants and shirt showed him playing the part, and his game came along nice, too, despite a sleepless night that involved his 3-year-old son, Joshua, needing a hospital visit for what turned out to be a case of pneumonia.
"I suppose it was a blessing, late tee-off time,'' Poulter said after shooting 5-under-par 67 in the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. "(Poulter's wife) Katie sat with him in the spare room, he's in my bed at half 12 (12:30 a.m.) and I'm dosing off and you just want to make sure he's OK.''
Poulter probably would rather have been at home Thursday instead of at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, but fortunately his U.S. residence is 30 minutes away at Lake Nona, where the hospital is close by.
That helped relieve some of the parental stress and Poulter responded nicely, continuing a trend of good play that saw him contend three weeks ago at the Honda Classic and get into the mix through two rounds last week at the Valspar Championship.
Poulter's 67 was good for a five-way tie for second place, 1 stroke behind first-round leader Morgan Hoffmann.
"I was No. 1 in proximity to the hole at Honda, which is a reflection of how well I've played,'' said the Englishman, who tied for third at PGA National. "I'm not reading an awful lot into the following week (at Doral). Last week I was 13th in proximity, which obviously means I'm playing good golf and I know that right now.
"This is a course I play very well. So I'm just happy to keep rolling right now, you know, to keep playing well, keep hitting it close to the pin, rolling a few putts in and then I can obviously start two weeks off and really prepare for the Masters.''
Poulter, 39, is known mostly for his European Ryder Cup prowess and flashy attire. Often missed is the fact that he has 13 international victories and has been a strong force on the European Tour for years.
What is often highlighted is his lack of success in the United States, despite living here for years and playing the PGA Tour full time for the better part of the last decade.
Poulter's two PGA Tour titles came at the 2010 WGC-Match Play Championship and the 2012 WGC-HSBC Champions in China.
That means he has failed to win a stroke-play tournament in America. And he let a good opportunity get away at the Honda, where he missed a playoff by a stroke despite taking five penalty shots during the final round.
"I hit more good shots than I did rubbish ones, so I'll pull on the good shots I hit,'' Poulter said. "I know what the faults are in my game. Today, we had a few half shots to play, tricky shots and I actually executed all of them lovely. So, you know, it's a work in progress.
"I know the good is really good and the mistakes have been costly over the last few weeks. If I eliminate the mistakes, I'm definitely going to be in with a chance to win.''
It's hard to argue with how well Poulter did Thursday. He hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation, including the last 10 in a row. He needed only 29 putts and had an eagle and three birdies with no bogeys.
All on a day when he preferred to be somewhere else.
"He's in good hands,'' Poulter said of his son. "The hospital is five minutes away. ... I can come out, focus on my job and obviously get back home and see how he is. He was good to see. It was good to see the improvement from midnight last night until obviously this morning, so he's obviously definitely on the mend.''