After months of excitement and anticipation, the 47th Volvo World Match Play Championship is underway in Spain. Defending champion Ian Poulter got things started just after midday, before going on to record a 3&2 victory over Australia’s John Senden.

Poulter is again among the favourites for this year’s title. The Englishman is a fine exponent of the match play format - something that England’s Justin Rose would like to emulate.

“Yeah, match play is an interesting format, sometimes you can shoot 66 and lose, but you have to take it with a pinch of salt. But at the same time, Ian Poulter has proved that there is a knack to it. His Ryder Cup record is amazing, and he's won both world match play championships. There is an art to it, I guess, and I'll be doing my best this year to try to figure that out even more.”

With guaranteed world-class golf, a fantastic course and breathtaking views, spectators from all over the world have descended on Finca Cortesin. As well as the opportunity to watch no less than six major champions, the fans will also have the chance to experience some action off course. In the spectator village there’s the chance to test drive the Volvo pedestrian detection system – and it’s not only the adults who can get behind the wheel, the younger ones can drive the smaller models in the kids zone.