Masters chance disappearing for Poulter

Ian Poulter’s hopes of playing the Masters in three weeks’ time were left hanging by a thread when he slumped to an 82 and crashed out of the Bay Hill Invitational in Orlando.

It was the second year running Poulter had posted the score at the event – but this time it came about in spectacular fashion at the end.

A respectable level par overnight and inside the expected cut mark, the European Ryder Cup star was struggling to survive from the moment he bogeyed the short second and then took a double-bogey six on the fifth, driving into sand and three-putting.

Further bogeys at the 10th and long 16th blew his chances of qualifying for the final two rounds, but then in the space of a few minutes Poulter dropped to next-to-last in the 120-strong field, running up a quintuple-bogey eight on the 219-yard 17th.

He dumped two balls in the lake short of the green and then, after making it onto dry land at the third attempt, chipped to seven feet and missed the putt.

Poulter currently lies 66th in the world and needs to be in the top 50 after next week’s Players Championship for a place at Augusta.

Now almost certain to drop further down the rankings, he might require a top three finish at Sawgrass to be part of the first major of the season.

Not being there, of course, would leave him with even more to do to retain his Ryder Cup spot.

Meanwhile, American Lucas Glover set the target for the star-studded line-up, a second successive 67 taking the 26-year-old from South Carolina to 10 under par.

Glover, whose first US Tour victory at the Walt Disney Classic last October came when he sank a 100-foot bunker shot on the final hole, led by one from Australians Robert Allenby and Rod Pampling, whose 65 was the low round of the week so far.

Tiger Woods, four times a winner of the title and three times a victor already this season, eagled the long sixth, but with three to play was only three under and down in 25th place.

Sergio Garcia was only two under after double-bogeying the 11th, his second, but four birdies in the space of six holes on the front nine lifted him into a tie for fifth place on seven under.

Ernie Els, Lee Westwood and Greg Owen were only two shots further back and tied for 11th and Justin Rose would have been on the same mark but for going in the water for a closing bogey. It gave him a second successive 70.

Nick Faldo was safely through on one under and Darren Clarke stood two under with one to go, but Brian Davis and Paul Lawrie were joining Poulter on the way out and after 14 holes Colin Montgomerie was heading for a third successive missed cut.

Montgomerie, one under when he resumed, bogeyed the 16th, 17th, third and sixth and looked like having to play the closing stretch in two under to survive.