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Ian Poulter says he's looking forward to the weekend and will play as hard as he can at Royal Birkdale

Ian Poulter was delighted to put together a "boring" scorecard as a hard-fought 70 kept him firmly in contention at the halfway stage of The Open.

Poulter, who came through a 36-hole qualifier at Woburn earlier this month to book his place at Royal Birkdale, battled hard to combat the fierce winds and torrential rain which sent score soaring in the second round.

Ian Poulter had 16 pars on his card in his battling second round

The 41-year-old plotted his way through the wind and rain and made several clutch pars, making just one birdie at 12 and one bogey at 16 to remain at three under par for the championship.

"Well, on the scorecard it was a very boring round of golf, but it kind of wasn't from the perspective of how I had to kind of piece my way around this golf course," said Poulter, runner-up to Padraig Harrington the last time The Open was held at Royal Birkdale in 2008.

Poulter is drawing on memories of his excellent finish at Birkdale in 2008

"I'm pulling hard this week on memories of how I remember 2008. I think the only memories I really have was Sunday's round of golf, because I wasn't quite in position. I mean, people were falling away, and I found myself moving up through the board. So every moment I'm on the golf course right now I'm thinking a lot about Sunday's round of golf in 2008.

"But today was was tricky, we had 35mph wind at times and it was a different wind that we with had from yesterday, so the golf course played completely different. Holes that were hybrid, sand-wedge were kind of driver, four-iron today. So it really was a complete 180.

Poulter thanked his army of fans for their support

"I made a nice birdie on 12, and then a little mistake on 16, where I didn't commit to the shot I wanted to play, but it was a good up-and-down on the last. So it was a solid day's work in the office."

Asked how it felt to be back in contention at a major, Poulter admitted it felt "absolutely marvellous" and paid a glowing tribute to the vast numbers of fans who supported him throughout the day despite the adverse weather.

Poulter has not played in a major since the 2016 Masters

He added: "Walking up 18, just walking from greens to tees was really pretty special. Huge galleries and they were really pulling for me, so it was really nice to be in position, keep churning out decent scores and keeping myself on the board. It was great.

"There's probably a five or six-year-old kid out there, he followed the whole way around. He was in a little yellow jacket, it was pouring down with rain, he didn't have an umbrella, but with his dad. And he kept saying, 'Come on, Poults. Come on, Poults'.

Poulter earned his place at Birkdale through qualifying at Woburn

"I mean, that's nice. These fans are hardened fans to any kind of condition, and for them to stay out in those cold, windy, rainy conditions, it's special. And they definitely help you along the way. Because it's not easy out there right now.

"I'm in a bonus week. I qualified for The Open and I'm loving it, I really am. This is a massive bonus for me to be in this position as I haven't played a major for a little while. And I can't wait. I'm excited, I'm pumped up and I feel my game's coming back to form.

"So, yeah, I mean I'm ready to go out there toe to toe with anyone this weekend."