Ian Poulter and Colin Montgomerie both charged through the field in Paris today - and then gave a memory of Turnberry that shows how far they have both come in their careers.

Argentina's Rafa Echenique still led the French Open Alstom on 10 under par after nine holes of his third round, but Poulter was up to six under and joint sixth after a 66 and Montgomerie matched his best of the year with a 65 that left him only one further back.

Turnberry, of course, is where the pair will both be playing The Open in two weeks' time, Poulter hoping to go one better than he did last year and Montgomerie trying to show that even at 46 he is still a force to be reckoned with.

The last time the championship was played on the Ayrshire links was 1994 and Poulter remembers that was the year he left the amateur ranks with a four handicap and worked as an assistant at the Jack O'Legs club in Hitchin.

"The Open would have been on TV and I would have been dusting and polishing the pro shop thinking 'Get me out of here - surely this tin of Pledge is going to run out sooner or later'."

Montgomerie first went to Turnberry to apply for a job with International Management Group, but while there went on the course, shot a back nine 29 and decided to turn pro instead.

"If I'd shot 39 who knows?" said the man who went on to win eight Order of Merits and is now, of course, Ryder Cup captain.

Le Golf National is where Montgomerie was runner-up 13 months ago - his last 10 top finish - and he was naturally delighted with today's round, especially as he thought he had missed the cut after taking a triple bogey seven at the end of his second round.

The Scot then urged people not to dismiss his chances of figuring prominently on his return to Turnberry.

"God no - I was eighth there in 1994 and The Open gives me my best opportunity if it's fast-running," he commented after a display which included a 97-yard pitch into the sixth hole for an eagle two.

There were also four birdies and best of those was a 204-yard four-iron to within a few inches of the flag on the difficult 17th.

"That's what I used to do. I've been making far too many mistakes - there were a load of crazy ones yesterday - and it starts with hitting fairways.

"If I do that I can play to my strength, my iron play. This was a very important round for me going forward and I've just got to keep at it hoping it will come back one day.

"That seven killed things off here. I've now got to move up as high as I can - I don't need the money, but I need the points."

Montgomerie's world ranking has fallen to 211th and he is down at 94th on the European money list. He has not been that low since he turned professional in 1987.

Echenique, meanwhile, mixed two birdies with two bogeys on the front nine after taking a two-stroke lead at halfway in the race for the massive first prize of more than £565,000.

He was one ahead of former English amateur champion Paul Waring, now in his second full year on the European Tour, and South African Charl Schwartzel.

Schwartzel joined Echenique out in front by starting the inward half with back-to-back birdies and then Waring, striving for the one Open Championship place on offer as well as his first Tour win, made it a three-way tie with a nine-footer on the 13th.