Ian Poulter has closed the gap on overnight leader Sergio Garcia to just one shot at the Players Championship in Florida.

Despite testing conditions at Sawgrass, Poulter picked up two birdies in his first four holes to move to five-under, one behind the Spaniard. Garcia is among the afternoon starters, as is Padraig Harrington who will resume at level par.

As Poulter moved toward the top of the leaderboard, there was little to cheer for most of his British compatriots who appear likely to make early exits.

Five of the seven British players in the 144-man field played in the morning and Luke Donald was the only one who moved in the right direction.

He picked up one stroke in 11 holes to improve to two-over. But it was not a good morning for Lee Westwood, who dropped four shots in 11 holes to fall to five-over, one more than the projected cut.

Richard Johnson, Paul Casey and Justin Rose also faced big challenges. Johnson was six over after 10 holes, Casey seven over through 10 holes and Rose seven over after 11 holes.

But not everybody was struggling. Among a handful of players under par on the day was Anthony Kim, the 22-year-old sensation who blew away the field to win in Charlotte last week.

Kim, who some are comparing with the great Tiger Woods, gathered four birdies and one bogey in 12 holes to jump to five-under.

He took advantage of the relatively gentle start on an otherwise brutal course, picking up two birdies in the first three holes.

Kim, born in California of Korean parents, finished equal second in his very first US Tour start in 2006, and last year was a decent if unspectacular 60th on the money list.