Poulter and Laird burn it up at Sawgrass

It was agony and ecstasy for two of England’s stars at golf’s richest event today.

The ecstasy belonged to Ian Poulter, whose seven-under-par 65 set a target matched late in the day by Scot Martin Laird.

The agony was Paul Casey’s. Out for more than two months after dislocating his shoulder snowboarding on Christmas Eve, he was struggling with it again and after taking 42 to the turn withdrew on the next.