Fresh from victory at the Barclays Singapore Open on Sunday, Ian Poulter has adjusted his sights upwards for the run-in to the end of the season — with Ryder Cup qualification and a place in the world’s top ten within touching distance.

On the eve of the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament, the Englishman reflected on his first win on the European Tour since 2006 and pointed out that if he maintains his form for a further three weeks, he could virtually wrap up a place in Colin Montgomerie’s Ryder Cup team before the year is out, nine months ahead of schedule.

After a six-week break from the game, Poulter returned refreshed and refocused in the knowledge that four good weeks could move him nicely into position for the coming year. He had hoped for a good start in Singapore and got it, and he has climbed six places in the world to No 15, his highest ranking. And with €554,000 (about £500,000) banked last week, he is a third of the way towards automatic qualification for the Europe Ryder Cup team, who will take on the United States at Celtic Manor in Newport, Gwent, next September.

After the HSBC event, with its €800,000 first prize, Poulter will play at the Hong Kong Open before moving on to the Middle East for the most lucrative event of all — the Dubai World Championship, a grand finale for the European Tour’s leading 60 players. They will be competing for a winner’s cheque of about €850,000 and a bonus pool of $7.5 million (about £4.5 million) to be shared among the top 15.

“To come out of the blocks so quick is great,” Poulter said. “I was fully aware that these tournaments were lucrative. There are a lot of world-ranking points on offer and they have strong fields. The crazy thing is that if you get off to a good start you could play all four weeks — Singapore, here, Hong Kong and Dubai — and seal your place in the Ryder Cup, which is incredible. I wanted to try to get as many points on the board as early as possible, so that was a great start.

“I took six weeks off and played only one round of golf in the first three weeks. Then I started to hit a few balls and did a lot of fitness work. I feel fitter than I ever have done and it has paid off. I’m fresh and, although there were a few cobwebs in there, which everybody saw at times [in Singapore], I managed to dust them off.

“At 15 in the world rankings, I’m pretty happy right now. The goal was to somehow try to get into the top ten by the end of this year. Now I’m very close. In terms of world-ranking points, I don’t need that many to squeeze inside the top ten. With a win as well, that would go down as the best year ever.”

Ross Fisher is another Englishman with the same immediate ambitions. While Poulter was victorious in the Far East, Fisher was well on his way to winning the Volvo World Match Play Championship, in Spain. Halfway through his 36-hole final against Anthony Kim, he sent a text message to Poulter congratulating him on his triumph and received one in return, wishing him luck.

Despite a touch of jet lag, Fisher is confident that he will be able to mount a credible challenge to players such as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington. He was beaten in a play-off here by Mickelson in 2007, but his splendid long game and an improved short game should hold him in good stead.

Victory last weekend moved Fisher to No 4 in the Race to Dubai and up to No 17 in the world. He was drawn to play with Woods for the first two rounds and was looking forward to the challenge, having played alongside the world No 1 on the final day of the Dubai Desert Classic in 2007, when he finished fifth to Woods’s joint third.

“It’s going to be interesting to see his game up close and personal,” Fisher said. “Hopefully I can go toe to toe with him. It was an experience playing with him in Dubai and if it wasn’t for a couple of putts here or there, I would have beaten him on the Sunday. He holed about a 15-footer on the last to beat me by a shot.”

That is good fighting talk and if he plays as he can, he might even back it up.

The story so far

Age 33
Born Hitchin, Hertfordshire
Height 6ft 1in
Weight 13st 7lb
Turned professional 1994 (with handicap of four)
European Tour wins Eight: Singapore Open, 2009; Madrid Masters, 2006; Volvo Masters, 2004; Wales Open, Nordic Open, 2003; Italian Open, 2002; Moroccan Open, 2001; Italian Open, 2000
Other wins Dunlop Phoenix, Japan, 2007
Highest world ranking 15 (November 2009)
Best finish in major championships Second, Open, 2008
Teams Ryder Cup: 2004 (winners), 2008