GOLF'S FASHIONISTA: Colourful Englishman ian poulter is more famous for his eye-catching outfits and on- and off-course antics than his golfing achievements. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

And rolling. And rolling. Twenty-five feet and a lifetime later, the ball dropped into the hole, and Ian Poulter's jaw dropped with it.

A hole-in-one for the one-of-a-kind. An ace for the joker.

'A huge, huge buzz,' the Englishman said. 'When something like this happens, you don't want it to end.'

When something like this happens? Something like this never happens.

This does not happen to someone who once worked in a pro shop because that was the only way he could afford to join the golf club.

This does not happen to someone who once camped overnight - complete with baked-bean dinners - for a good seat to the Ryder Cup.

This does not happen to someone who, after he finally turned professional eight years ago, tripped over a golf bag and injured his ankle.

This does not happen to a man who is more famous for his wardrobe than his wedge.

Ian Poulter once played a round wearing Union Jack pants. Another time, he wore a soccer jersey. On Thursday, he showed up at the green-jacketed Masters wearing green - an awful lime green, in shoes, pants and belt buckle.

All of which paled in comparison to his most famous outfit of recent months: A pink golf bag, which was his 'wardrobe' in a British magazine cover in which he posed nude except for the strategically placed bag.

Meet golf's anti-Tiger, golf's Tigger, born just three weeks after Woods, yet hailing from a completely different universe.

'I was still working in a pro shop when he was out playing golf,' Poulter said of Woods. 'It just gave me a massive buzz to go out and start practising harder and harder.'

His practice made perfect on the 16th hole at Augusta National on Thursday, only the 19th hole-in-one in the tournament's 71 years.

He finished with a two-under 70, two strokes behind the leader, called it one of the best rounds of his life, then strolled off the course to buy drinks for all the lads in the clubhouse.

Well, actually, no.

He may be a millionaire now, but he still remembers what it was like to pinch pennies. 'I don't know if I can afford that, can I?' he said.

'I try and have fun on the golf course,' said the guy whose shock of blond hair and huge smile complement his crazy clothes.

That 'fun' included once breaking his putter in anger and finishing a round putting with his wedge.

That 'fun' also once included teeing off with a guitar.

What that 'fun' has never included is a PGA Tour victory in his four years on the circuit.

Some folks think he is too flighty. Other folks think he is just too danged happy.

Poulter began playing when he was four, but his parents struggled to support his habit, and he eventually wound up working at the Chesfield Downs Golf Club.

Even then, he was still too poor to play competitively, as the club pro charged him green fees to enter the club tournaments.

This is how he became one of the few players in history to turn pro with a four handicap.

This is also how he came to appreciate places like Augusta, and days like Thursday, which ended with him recording his best finish - tied for sixth - in his four visits here.

Your round? 'Flawless,' he said.

If you could get beyond the lime-green sunglasses, you would indeed see the stare of a competitor, witness his seven European Tour victories and winning shots in a Ryder Cup a few years after he was staying up all night to get tickets.

Last year, he was one of only seven players to make the cut in all four Majors. This year, he is ranked 24th in the world.

And, oh yeah, did you hear about his uncovered cover story?

It was last winter, in Golf World UK magazine, where he posed mostly naked on the cover, under the headline 'Poulter Laid Bare: Why there's a lot more to me than fancy pants'.

'That was a one-off,' he said of the cover, 'staying a one-off.'

However, he stands by the quotes, in which he had the audacity to say that he could compete with Woods.

'The trouble is, I don't rate anyone else,' he told the magazine. 'Don't get me wrong, I really respect every professional golfer, but I know I haven't played to my full potential and when that happens, it will be just me and Tiger.'

His rivals grumbled but, of course, they were wrong.

Good for Poulter for not acting so deferential. Good for Poulter for not backing down.

On Thursday, Woods playfully referred to him as 'No2'', while the fans who crowded the par-three 16th hole would rate him even higher.

The eight-iron connected, the ball rolled into the hole from 169 yards, and, while you may take issue with his trousers, give the fashion whiz props for instantly designing a new type of collar.

'The hairs on the back of your neck were standing up,' he said.

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'A huge, huge buzz. When something like this happens, you don't want it to end.'

IAN POULTER, on his hole-in-one