THE OPEN RELATED STORIES The Open Home Page The Open Scores Round 4: Padraig Harrington wins Open in playoff Round 4: Late bogeys cost Romero The Open Round 4: No final round charge from Tiger Woods Round 4: Richard Green equals course record Round 4: 18th at Carnoustie strikes again Round 3: Sergio Garcia in sight of first major title Round 3: Justin Rose boosted by round of 67 Round 3: Late problems cost Ian Poulter dear Round 3: Tiger Woods shoots 69 but still eight back Round 3: Chris DiMarco back in the mix after a 65 Round 3: Steve Stricker shoots course record Round 2: Sergio Garcia holds on to lead on Friday Round 2: Rory McIlroy claims Silver Medal Round 2: Garcia not bothered when he wins major Round 2: Phil Mickelson struggles and misses cut Round 2: Tiger Woods still in the hunt despite 74 Round 2: Weir jumps into contention with round of 68 Round 1: Sergio Garcia leads with opening 65 Round 1: David Howell happy with eventful 72 Round 1: KJ Choi happy despite late bogeys Round 1: Inspired Michael Campbell shoots 68 Round 1: Ruling overshadows Tiger's round Round 1: Last minute tip helps McGinley to a 67 Round 1: Amateur Rory McIlroy scores a 68 Top 20 favourites for the Open Tiger Woods targets third straight Open title Paul Lawrie returns to site of famous victory Colin Montgomerie backs European winner Draw for first & second rounds Seve Ballesteros retires from golf Jean Van de Velde suffering from unknown illness Wild weather day at Carnoustie Jim Furyk enjoys his low profile Phil Mickelson not worried about driving problems Peter Fowler aims to get career back on track Nick Faldo fears for "nice" Europeans No distractions for Tiger Woods Paul Lawrie still not getting credit for Open win Jose Maria Olazabal withdraws from the Open Rod Pampling seeks to change Carnoustie luck Sergio Garcia unhappy with Scottish weather Weather biggest factor in how Carnoustie will play Gary Player says some players take steriods Justin Rose seeks to break European drought Quotations about the Open Championship Course Guide: Carnoustie 2007 European Tour Schedule GREAT GIFTS FOR GOLFERS Golf Breaks to Portugal & Ireland Half Price Golf Vouchers InstructaCard - your portable pro! The Father & Son Golf Ch'ship Golf Insurance

Late problems cost Ian Poulter dear

Ian Poulter shrugged off a migraine on Saturday before giving himself a major headache by spurning the chance to close the gap on the leaders in the British Open third round.

The 31-year-old Briton got off to a fast start with three birdies in six holes before making further inroads on par at the 11th and 14th.

But Poulter's charge came to a sudden halt when he dropped four strokes in three holes to the 17th.

"I've had a migraine for two days and had just cleared it up," the Englishman told reporters after finishing with a 70 for a three-over total of 216.

"I felt fantastic on the course today, hit the shots I wanted to but two bad shots are hard to take right now."

Poulter was referring to a pulled drive at the 15th which caused a double-bogey six and another poor tee shot two holes later which narrowly avoided water and led to a bogey.

"It's desperately frustrating," he said. "I also missed a three-foot birdie putt on 13 and probably three other easy birdie opportunities.

"I went through the field and could have been eight or nine under today. I was aware of the (bad) weather forecast, of what what would happen if you put in a decent score and I was five-under through 14 holes."

Poulter, who often attracts attention for his colourful dress sense, said he was driven by a desire to add to his seven European Tour victories.

"A few people may not believe it but I'm hungry to win golf tournaments," he said.

"I am not here to make up the numbers and I think I can go out there and prove a point."