Poulter shares lead despite caddie becoming ill
Scot Jimmy Rae, widely-known as “Edinburgh Jimmy,” felt ill during Thursday’s first round but managed to complete all 18 holes as Poulter carded an opening 65. He was then seen by the on-site doctor and ordered to go immediately to hospital where he was diagnosed with the illness and will remain until at least next weekend.
That left Poulter needing to find a new bagman before his second round yesterday and Colin Montgomerie’s caddie Andy Prodger answered his SOS. Prodger, ironically not working here because Montgomerie had pulled out on Tuesday to rest his injured back, caught the last flight from Edinburgh to London on Thursday night and was on the first flight to Munich yesterday morning.
‘‘Jimmy normally pulls all the clubs and generally he is spot on. He is very lippy and cheeky but that’s the relationship we have - and we’ve got on great for the last two years. He is a great caddie.’’
Prodger, who caddied for Nick Faldo during his first US Masters victory in 1989, added: ‘‘I was gobsmacked. My wife asked me out of the blue how Ian’s caddie was doing and then I got the phone call - but it’s nice to caddie for a nice player.’’
Greg Norman also pulled out of the tournament on Tuesday with a back injury, as did Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance after nine holes of his first round, and Bernhard Langer was also decidely under the weather as he battled a bout of food poisoning suffered after his opening round 64.
The veteran German was unsure whether he would be able to even start his round but recovered from dropping shots at the first two holes to card a 69 for an 11 under total, one behind Ryder Cup team-mate Thomas Bjorn who moved into fourth with a superb 64. Bland lost out in a four-way play-off for the Irish Open in June but earned enough money to secure his card for next year in his first full season on tour.
Former Open champion John Daly and Pádraig Harrington, first and second last year, made the halfway cut with nothing to spare on four under, Daly having to birdie the last to do so.
Seve Ballesteros missed out on three over, however, in his first appearance since being disqualified from the Irish Open two months ago for signing for an incorrect score after a first round 89.
Harrington had to offer his apologies to playing partner Trevor Immelman, however, after inadvertently costing him a two-shot penalty.
Immelman’s ball moved on the 15th green before he addressed it and when asked, Harrington incorrectly told him he was allowed to replace it instead of playing as it lies. It cost the South African a two-shot penalty and turned what would have been a birdie three into a bogey five, and a 70 into a 72 for a six under halfway total.
Magnificent Munster were crowned Boys Interprovincial champions at Headfort yesterday - thanks to their 5-4 win over Ulster in the opening series.
All four provinces had a chance to claim outright victory at the Meath course as they began play on the final day with one victory each. Munster grabbed their opportunity with an impressive 6-3 win over Leinster as Ulster overcame Connacht 5-4. Both Ulster and Munster were tied with two victories and also the number of matches won over the three days. This meant that the title was decided by the head-to-head between the two provinces, a 5-4 win by Munster on the opening day. Munster’s win over Leinster looked anything but clear-cut after the foursomes where two matches were halved. A win by James Walsh and Graeme Dunlea gave Munster a slender 2-1 lead before Cian McNamara, Pat O’Brien, Aaron O’Callaghan and Dunlea came through in the singles to give Munster 15 match points - the same as Ulster.
Meanwhile, Shandon Park’s Alistair McKinley was beaten in the semi-finals of the Belgian Junior championship at Royal Belgium yesterday. The Irish Youths International beat Holland’s Taco Remkes by one hole in the quarter finals but then lost to local talent Pierre Thomas by four and three in the semis.
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