Poulter on the charge

Ian Poulter raced to the turn in 30 strokes at the Forest of Arden today to revive his hopes of a second successive European tour victory.

After surviving the halfway with nothing to spare at level par, Poulter resumed the Daily Telegraph Damovo British Masters eight strokes behind joint leaders Greg Owen and Richard Green.

But when he birdied the first four holes and then the seventh and ninth as well the 27-year-old from Milton Keynes was only two behind.

Poulter led the Wales Open last week from start to finish, despite suffering from tonsillitis to end a miserable run of five missed cuts in six starts.

It lifted him to 14th place on the Order of Merit, and with £250,000 on offer this weekend he had a chance to take a further leap to fourth.

The front-nine 30 even included missed putts of six and 15 feet, but the birdie on the 476-yard par four ninth had a touch of good fortune to it.

After pushing his drive slightly he had to carry trees with his approach, and after he had done that successfully the ball narrowly missed the greenside bunker and then ran up to seven feet.

The midlands course was seeing some spectacular scoring elsewhere. New Zealander Stephen Scahill, first man out at 7.37am, went to the turn in 33 and then eagled the 547-yard 12th to move to five under.

South Korean Charlie Wi birdied the first, eagled the 524-yard seventh and birdied the next to stand four under.

Defending champion Justin Rose, who pushed Poulter into second place at Woburn last year with two closing rounds of 65, was out in 34 thanks to birdies at the seventh and eighth – but judging by events around him he needed to find another gear to have any chance of retaining the last of the four titles he won last year.

Owen, who has not dropped a stroke in 68 holes going back to the fourth hole of his third round in the Wales Open last Saturday, and Australian left-hander Green led by a stroke overnight from David Lynn and German Marcel Siem.

mfl