GIVING
AT ROYAL BIRKDALE Poulter is left fuming
IAN POULTER claimed, before the third round, that he would stand “toe-to-toe” with Royal Birkdale. He ended up being floored by it – and he was fuming. The home prospect (above) declared war on one of his favourite courses as he eyed an improbable tilt at landing the Claret Jug. But that battle-cry sounded hollow as he ended up only shadow boxing – as his challenge to reel in the American trio heading the leaderboard hit the canvas. Starting just three shots behind those stars in stripes, his round took time to splutter into life. And by the time he eventually got on the front foot, his charge suddenly ran out of steam, thanks to three bogeys on the spin – and with it went any hope of ending a 25-year wait for an English champ. Opportunity knocked for the 41-year-old. And it was an opportunity lost as far as he was concerned. He said: “What can I say? I’m extremely disappointed. Easy conditions, the greens were soft. No excuses. I started off badly, threeputting the first and it’s just a real shame. “I tried to get some adrenaline going but I just threw it all away. “I made too many stupid mistakes. I made one bogey on Friday in all those treacherous conditions and I made five today. It’s not good enough. I’m p***ed off.”