Poulter flying high as Tiger stalks

Ian Poulter had the thrill of leading The Masters at Augusta today, but if that was the ecstasy, the agony certainly belonged to Sandy Lyle.

There were only three shots separating Lyle and overnight leader Fred Couples when the opening major of the season resumed, but what a different story it was five hours later.

Lyle, who has had nothing better than his opening 69 since he won the title four years before Couples in 1988, shot a nightmare 86. His previous worst was 82.

The 52-year-old Scot’s horrendous front nine of 46 – only three less than the worst in the tournament’s long history – was followed by a triple bogey six on the 12th and a fourth double bogey of the round on the 14th.

“I’m battered and bruised,” said Lyle, who at 11 over par found himself out of an event for which he had such high hopes 24 hours earlier.

“You have to smile. It got beyond a joke. I lost my rhythm completely and just couldn’t regroup.

“For the first nine holes I thought I was playing with a square ball.”

Poulter, on the other hand, picked up birdies at the second and eighth, the two par fives on the outward half, and with pars on the other seven stood six under par.

On a much tougher set-up – to nobody’s surprise the pin positions were much closer to the edges – that was good enough to put England’s World Match Play champion alongside not only Couples, but also his fellow American Ricky Barnes.

Couples also birdied the second, but bogeyed the ninth and remained level par for the day with six to play, while Barnes birdied the second and third.

Tiger Woods, meanwhile, held a share of second place when he also birdied the second – after first rescuing a par from the trees with a superb chip at the opening hole – but bogeyed the fourth.

Five pars followed that to leave him four under and tied for seventh with, among others, 60-year-old Tom Watson, who birdied the second as well but sandwiched it between two bogeys.

As for Lee Westwood and Phil Mickelson, both only a shot behind Couples overnight, they were among the later starters.

Lyle was not the only member of the European contingent to struggle.

Debutants Simon Dyson and Chris Wood finished six over and 10 over respectively after rounds of 73 and 76. They looked set for early exits too.

Yorkshireman Dyson said: “Watching on television you think it can’t be that hard, but it really is.

“If somebody had said I would play like I did I would have taken it, but the wind probably cost me 10 shots.

“There’s some nasty pins and it’s a bit severe, but you can’t wrong-side yourself.”

Wood, fifth and third in the last two Opens, said: “Very disappointing, very hard – harder than it looks on telly.

“It’s pretty much the one you dream of playing in and suddenly I was. It’s probably the most nervous I’ve ever been on a golf course.

“Everybody says you need to know the course and I didn’t until 10 days ago.”

Lyle’s horror tale started immediately. The first flag was front left just over the guarding bunker and Lyle, unaware that Dyson had already taken six there in the first group of the day, did the same.

Off a weak drive he needed a three-iron for his approach, went left and from in front of the nearby ninth tee sent his chip up the bank and 30 feet past the hole, from where he took three more.

Worse was to come, though. On the 155-yard 12th he went over the green into the undergrowth, had “a whack” and moved it about an inch, and then sent his next attempt over the green into the water.

Ross Fisher, who led on his debut last year, was nine over with one to play and also resigned to bowing out, while 20-year-old Rory McIlroy double-bogeyed the seventh and bogeyed the long eighth.

That put him five over and he remained there with five to play, while Padraig Harrington turned four over and then double-bogeyed the 10th.