IAN POULTER is finally where he has always wanted to be today – in contention for a major title.
Having never previously finished better than ninth at any of golf's four biggest events, the 32-year-old went into the third round of The Masters at Augusta joint third and only three shots behind leader Trevor Immelman.
Poulter intends to enjoy
every second of it. And why wouldn't he given where he was little more than a decade ago?
Only a four-handicapper when he turned professional in 1994, the Hitchin-born player spent the next few years as a club assistant earning £3.20 an hour, selling tees, repairing clubs and vacuuming the pro shop.
From those humble beginnings Poulter has risen to European Tour winner and a Ryder Cup cap, but going for a green jacket is new territory.
"When I turned pro I had that kind of naive inner belief, but I didn't understand what it would take to get on Tour at the time," he said after his 69. "I soon learned to understand that you just have to keep getting better. It's been hard work. I'm in a great position – certainly the best I've been in after two rounds of a major – and playing the way I've played I'm feeling pretty confident.
"But Augusta National is a difficult golf course and it's never over till it's over."
Poulter took over as Europe's leading hope from his close friend Justin Rose, who from sharing the lead with Immelman slumped to 29th with a 78 – eight of them on the par five 15th. If that is the hole he will remember most this week, Poulter's is the short 16th. He holed-in-one there on Thursday and made a birdie two in his second round.
Immelman's Augusta history includes an ace at 16 too, but also a parasite last year which got into his stomach and put him out of action for over a month.
Not that that was the 28-year-old South African's biggest drama of 2007. Just before Christmas – and just after beating Rose in the Nedbank Challenge in his home country – he was operated on after the discovery of a tumour on his diaphragm.
Massively relieved when he was told it was benign, he returned to competition in February, but in seven stroke-play events he has a best finish of 40th.
Second place is held by little-known American Brandt Snedeker on seven under – Immelman is eight under – while alongside Poulter are left-handers Steve Flesch and Phil Mickelson.
Flesch would be a shock winner like Snedeker and, given his poor recent form, Immelman, but Mickelson would not, of course. He is seeking his third green jacket in five years.
"I'd love to be in the lead – you always like having shots in hand," he said. "But I would have had to press the issue at some spots and I didn't want to do that yet. I'm pleased I've a good chance going into the weekend.
"I think it's going to be an exciting weekend."
Other Europeans are still in touch. Paul Casey, sixth on his debut in 2004 and tenth last year despite an opening 78, lies joint sixth on four under and Lee Westwood would have been on the same mark but for a double bogey seven at the 13th.
"I tried to hook it too much off the 13th tee and lost my grip a bit," he said about a hole which saw him go in the creek twice.
"Then for the pitch I was on a bit of a sidehill and downslope and caught it a bit fat.
"But I am still in what I think is a decent position. Anything can happen here. If it gets tough, which it probably will, I am capable of shooting two 70s."
(US unless stated, par 72)136:Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 68 68
137:Brandt Snedeker 69 68
139:Phil Mickelson 71 68, Steve Flesch 72 67, Ian Poulter (Eng) 70 69
140:Paul Casey (Eng) 71 69, Stephen Ames (Can) 70 70
141:Arron Oberholser 71 70, Mike Weir (Can) 73 68, Stewart Cink 72 69
142:Retief Goosen (Rsa) 71 71, Lee Westwood (Eng) 69 73
143:Robert Karlsson (Swe) 70 73, Tiger Woods 72 71, Vijay Singh (Fij) 72 71, J.B. Holmes 73 70, Jim Furyk 70 73, Sean O'Hair 72 71, Nick Dougherty (Eng) 74 69
144:Andres Romero (Arg) 72 72
145:Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 71 74, Nick Watney 75 70, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 73 72, Bubba Watson 74 71, Brian Bateman 69 76, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 75 70, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 73 72, Padraig Harrington (Irl) 74 71
146:Zach Johnson 70 76, Adam Scott (Aus) 75 71, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 75 71, Justin Leonard 72 74, Robert Allenby (Aus) 72 74, Justin Rose (Eng) 68 78, Ian Woosnam (Wal) 75 71, Boo Weekley 72 74, Johnson Wagner 72 74, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 74 72, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 76 70
147:Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 77 70, KJ Choi (Kor) 72 75, David Toms 73 74, Todd Hamilton 74 73, Heath Slocum 71 76, Sandy Lyle (Sco) 72 75
Missed cut:
148:Michael Campbell (Nzl) 77 71, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 76 72, Toru Taniguchi (Jpn) 76 72, Fred Couples 76 72, Charles Howell III 78 70, Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 75 73, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 76 72, Ernie Els (Rsa) 74 74, Luke Donald (Eng) 73 75, Brett Wetterich 73 75
149:Jerry Kelly 72 77, Hunter Mahan 77 72, Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 75 74, Mark O'Meara 71 78, Craig Stadler 77 72, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 74 75, Jonathan Byrd 75 74
150:Steve Stricker 73 77, Daniel Chopra (Swe) 72 78, John Rollins 77 73, Shaun Micheel 76 74, Tom Watson 75 75, Ben Curtis 75 75, Camilo Villegas (Col) 73 77, Trip Kuehne 78 72
151:Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 76 75, Bernhard Langer (Ger) 74 77, Michael Thompson 73 78, Vaughn Taylor 75 76, John Senden (Aus) 80 71
152:Ben Crenshaw 75 77, Woody Austin 79 73, Richard Green (Aus) 77 75, Tim Clark (Rsa) 77 75, Peter Lonard (Aus) 71 81, Shingo Katayama (Jpn) 79 73
153:Mark Calcavecchia 73 80, Soren Hansen (Den) 75 78, Scott Verplank 77 76, D. J. Trahan 76 77
154:Ray Floyd 80 74, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 76 78
155:Anders Hansen (Den) 80 75
156:Drew Weaver 76 80
157:Steve Lowery 81 76
158:Larry Mize 77 81
160:Fuzzy Zoeller 81 79
161:Gary Player (Rsa) 83 78
The full article contains 1106 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
