WHO KNOWS? Maybe Ian Poulter will have the last laugh.

For the past few months, Poulter has been the butt of locker-room jokes for daring to suggest he was the only player capable of living with a certain Mr Tiger Woods and, quite possibly, challenging the world number one for that particular crown. Woods even took to calling him "Number Two". It's a position Poulter one day seeks to hold for real.

Yesterday, with the piece de resistance a hole-in-one on the 16th, Poulter opened his Masters campaign with a 70, two under par, that was as sublime as the lime-green trousers he sported. For once, though, his golf - rather than his self-designed outfit - did the talking, nowhere more so than on the 170-yard 16th, where his eight-iron shot found the hole for his third career ace.

"I flushed it," observed Poulter. "As soon as it left the club, I knew it was going to be pretty good."

Poulter's tee-shot pitched some 25 feet right of the hole, kicked off the slope and ran down to the hole. "It gave me a massive, unbelievable buzz. It was a special moment."

It was only after finishing the round that Poulter realised he didn't know where the ball was.

"I asked my caddie at the back of the 18th, 'where did you put that ball?', and he said, 'it's in your hand'. I said, 'no, it's not. I gave it to you at the back of 17'. I always change (balls) after a bogey."

Luckily, his caddie retrieved the ball from one of his pockets and Poulter plans to get it framed.

When did he start replacing a ball after a bogey? "As soon as I got out on tour and the balls were free. As soon as they were free, I could sack it and get a new one."

Poulter has developed a liking for this course, having made the cut in each of his three previous appearances with a best-placed tied-13th a year ago. He has also developed a greater belief since Pádraig Harrington's win in the British Open last July.

"Pádraig's win has given everyone a boost to go out there and play golf in the major championships. There's a certain golfer out there that is winning an awful lot of them and that's who we talk about week-in and week-out. But, with Paddy winning the Open and Zach (Johnson) winning here last year, anything is possible," said Poulter.

So, what are his true feelings about Woods? "Tiger's been a role model, to be honest. Obviously, yeah, I'm born probably within 10 days of Tiger, and, you know, I was still working in the pro shop when he was out playing golf. It just gave me a massive buzz to go out and start practising harder and harder and harder 10 years ago, and it's nice to be playing golf in the same arena that he's playing golf in right now, because you have to test yourself.

"And everyone is being tested. The golf courses are being set up very difficult, and it's just a great time to be playing golf against him."

In a magazine feature in February, Poulter set out to explain why he felt he could become the biggest challenger to Woods. It's his aspiration to be world number one. Now number 24 in the rankings, Poulter has no beef with Woods's status.

"Look how far out in front Tiger is to the number two (Phil Mickelson) . . . it's the equivalent (gap) of two to the 1,000th player in the world. Quite frankly, there's nobody else in the same bracket as him. He is that good.

"And while he has a golf club in his hand, I don't think anyone is going to knock him off that number one spot.

"You have to be realistic with your goals. Even if you are hard on yourself and you want to push yourself to the limit, you still have to be fairly realistic."

So Poulter has his sights set on becoming the world number two. "Things are achievable if you play well over a year period or a two-year period, and I think the number two spot for me is achievable."

That way, when Tiger Woods meets him with the quip, "hey, Number Two", it will be for real. And, of course, a win in the Masters would be a major help. You've got to believe.