After storming up the leaderboard at the Crowne Plaza Invitational to end the second round just two off the lead, Ian Poulter struggled to hide his delight at choosing Colonial over travelling to England to play in the BMW PGA Championship.
Poulter raised a few eyebrows when he decided to miss the European Tour's flagship event, citing his poor Wentworth record as his reason behind it.
And while world No.1 Rory McIlroy - another player who, last year's victory aside, has had little joy in Surrey - is contemplating two extra days off having missed his third cut in four years, Poulter heads into the weekend close behind Colonial leader Kevin Na.
"[The European Tour] would like me to play Wentworth," he said. "I personally would like to play Wentworth, I'll be honest. But it's a golf course which hasn't been too kind to me over the years. My performances haven't been very good there.
"The last time I was here [at Colonial], I played pretty well, and obviously the addition with that tournament allowed me to come back and play."
Two weeks ago Poulter and American Rickie Fowler were voted the most overrated players by their peers in a Sports Illustrated survey, and after Fowler won the Players Championship five days later, Poulter believes it is now his turn to prove the doubters wrong.
"He's taken care of his business," Poulter told the PGA Tour website. "It's time for me to take care of mine."
Poulter is yet to win a stroke play title on American soil, with his two PGA Tour victories coming in the WGC-Match Play Championship and the WGC-Champions, which is held in Shanghai.