This could not compare with Poulter's quite breathtaking effort of 63, which equalled the course record. There were 10 birdies, and he made only one bogey, at the final hole.At the moment Poulter finished his round, he had taken the lead at nine under par. Once play had concluded some time later, only Greg Owen, the overnight leader, had pressed in front. The 31-year-old from Mansfield, who is still looking for his first win, returned a 67 to be 13 under.

Four strokes behind, alongside Poulter, was the Australian left-hander Richard Green.The first couple of days had been frustrating ones for a number of players. Colin Montgomerie missed the cut when he dearly needed more time on the course ahead of the upcoming US Open in Chicago; Darren Clarke, on a course where he has won twice, could not get the putter going; and Lee Westwood was doing his usual one step forward and one step backwards.Rose had been in striking distance of the lead early in his second round but then collapsed, and only just made the cut alongside his friend Poulter "Justin was a bit frustrated," Poulter said "I told him we were only eight strokes off the lead. If we went out in the morning when the greens are prefect and there isn't much wind, there was a really low score there. Two 65s could still win it."That was exactly what Rose achieved last year at Woburn, but it was Poulter who capitalised "I've just proved what I said last night," he said. "That's one of the nicer rounds I've ever played, and the best chance I've ever had for a 59. I missed three or four putts from eight feet."The 27-year-old from Milton Keynes was suffering from tonsillitis while winning in Wales.

Having recovered, he spent the first two days trying to swing too hard. He reverted to his smoother action that worked so well a week ago, and that did the trick. His recent run of five missed cuts in six tournaments, after slightly modifying his swing with David Leadbetter, must seem a world away.He birdied the first four holes, all from inside 10 feet, and then the seventh and the ninth. His four at the par-five 17th was his fourth birdie of the back nine, but at the last he was left with an 80-footer for a two and left it 18 feet short, his par attempt lipping out.Owen safely got up and down from a bunker at the last to retain the benefit of an eagle at the 17th. He dropped just one stroke all day, but his only concern was a slight twinge in his ribs after his second at the sixth."I felt very calm today and I hope I can feel that again tomorrow," he said. "Losing in Portugal recently upset me, and so I'm looking forward to the challenge tomorrow.".

Not so long ago, his coffee table groaned under the weight of all four Major championship trophies. Now Tiger Woods faces the prospect of getting out the large-scale atlas of the world to plug the gap. The world No 1 without a Major title? It has been an unthinkable scenario ever since Woods won the US PGA at Medinah in 1999. The 103rd US Open starts at the relatively unknown Olympia Fields on Thursday with an air of intrigue.Although Tiger muscled his way around Bethpage to win a second US Open last year, his driving since then has been a concern. He has gone through countless new implements in a search to find one that feels comfortable. He would only be human if an uncertainty has crept in, particularly after his blocked drive into the trees at the third hole in the final round at the Masters.At Augusta and in his previous outing at the Players' Championship - the two biggest tournaments of the season so far - the real Woods failed to turn up. The reasons may have involved the rehabilitation of his knee after surgery last winter, his sudden weight loss after suffering food poisoning at Bay Hill and the mystery over his coaching arrangements.Mark O'Meara was meant to have taken over as his guiding eyes, but since the Masters Woods has spent time, including several days last week, at the base of his long-time teacher, Butch Harmon, in Las Vegas.