Poulter effort not to be sneezed at

England’s Ian Poulter claimed a share of the lead at the halfway stage of the BMW International Open despite having his caddie hospitalised with pneumonia.

Scot Jimmy Rae, widely-known as ‘Edinburgh Jimmy’, felt ill during yesterday’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 on Friday afternoon 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 on Friday morning.

That flight from Heathrow was delayed for 90 minutes this morning but he arrived at the course just 40 minutes before the tee-off time of 1:10pm and immediately got into the groove as Poulter birdied the first on his way to a 66 and 13 under halfway total alongside fellow Englishmen Richard Bland and Jamie Spence.

Poulter, himself on standby for the Ryder Cup if Montgomerie or any of the other automatic qualifiers pulls out, revealed: “Jimmy said all last week he was not feeling well and I told him to take a week off – but being stubborn he came over and was sick about 15 times on the course on Thursday.

“It’s going to mean a bit of time off for him and a course of antibiotics but hopefully he’ll be back as soon as possible. I’ll go and see him tonight or tomorrow morning.

“There were a few caddies at the course but I wanted someone who has been there and done it. I managed to get hold of him when he was cutting the grass and it was spooky because he said his wife had asked him two hours before how me and Jimmy were getting on.

“It was difficult for him because I’ve not had him on the bag before but I gave him a list of how far I hit each club and it worked out well.

“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.

“I took a lot of confidence from the Irish Open and my main aim now is to contend more often so you get used to the situation,” said Bland, whose close friend – former England and Southampton footballer Matthew Le Tissier – caddied for him in the Scottish Open.

“If I get up there again I know I can handle it. Okay I did not win, but no-one was expecting me to be in the mix and the way I finished with birdies at three of the last six holes was a huge confidence boost.”

Former Open champion John Daly and Ireland’s Padraig 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.