England’s Ian Poulter, starting on the back nine, did make it to the course after yesterday’s three-under-par 68 but had difficulties of a different kind.

At the 585-yard 15th he dragged his second into a hazard beside the green and despite the best efforts of around 30 people in the crowd the ball was nowhere to be found.

The Ryder Cup star had to go back down the fairway, pitched to 12 feet but missed his putt and finished with a double-bogey seven.

That dropped him back down to one-under, having earlier bogeyed the 443-yard 12th after finding sand off the tee and then missing the green and a four-foot par putt.

However, he claimed that back at the next after pitching his short-iron approach past the pin and spinning it back to within three feet.

With eight-under-par leader John Bickerton and his nearest rivals Michael Campbell (six-under) and Joakim Backstrom (five-under) not out until the afternoon it was left to Austrian Markus Brier to make an early move.

Brier, who won his maiden European Tour title at his home Open in Vienna three weeks ago, birdied the third, fifth and ninth – with a bogey at the fourth – to turn in 33 and move to five-under.