Poulter and Monty crash out
Ian Poulter’s hopes of playing the Masters in three weeks’ time were left hanging by a thread today when he slumped to an 82 and along with Colin Montgomerie crashed out of the Bay Hill Invitational in Orlando.
It was the second year running Poulter had posted the score at the event – but this time it came about in spectacular fashion at the end.
A respectable level par overnight and inside the expected cut mark, the European Ryder Cup star was struggling to survive from the moment he bogeyed the short second and then took a double bogey six on the fifth, driving into sand and three-putting.
Further bogeys at the 10th and long 16th blew his chances of qualifying for the final two rounds, but then in the space of a few minutes Poulter dropped to next to last in the 120-strong field, running up a quintuple bogey eight on the 219-yard 17th.
He dumped two balls in the lake short of the green and then, after making it on to dry land at the third attempt, chipped to seven feet and missed the putt.
Poulter currently lies 66th in the world and needs to be in the top 50 after next week’s Players’ Championship for a place at Augusta.
Now almost certain to drop further down the rankings, he might require a top three finish at Sawgrass to be part of the first major of the season.
Montgomerie has his spot in the Masters, but has now missed three successive halfway cuts following a dismal 77.
The eight-time European number one was even better placed than Poulter after an opening 71, but he could not summon up a single birdie when he returned to the course and bogeys at the 16th, 17th, third, sixth and ninth sent him tumbling to four over.
Fellow Scot Paul Lawrie and Londoner Brian Davis also bowed out as American Lucas Glover took over at the top on 10 under with a second successive 67.
Glover, whose first US Tour victory at the Walt Disney Classic last October came when he sank a 100-foot bunker shot on the final hole, led by one from Australians Robert Allenby and Rod Pampling, whose 65 was the low round of the week so far.
Tiger Woods, four times a winner of the title and three times a winner already this season, eagled the long sixth, but it came in a round of 71 that left him down in 25th place on three under.
Sergio Garcia was only two under after double-bogeying the 11th, his second, but four birdies in the space of six holes on the front nine lifted him into a tie for fifth place on seven under.
Lee Westwood and Greg Owen were only two shots further back and ied for 11th and Justin Rose would have been on the same mark but for going in the water for a closing bogey. It gave him a second successive 70.
Nick Faldo and Darren Clarke are 38th on one under, but now find themselves nine adrift of Glover.
