Ian Poulter moves into Houston share

Ian Poulter has moved into a share of the lead ahead of the final round of the Houston Open after carding a bogey-free score of 65 on Saturday.

The Englishman recorded seven birdies as he moved onto 14-under-par for the tournament and it was also his second consecutive round without a dropped shot on his card.

The 42-year-old has not won on the PGA Tour since his victory at the WGC-HSBC Champions in November 2012 but his run to the quarter-finals of last week’s WGC – Dell Technologies Match Play underlined that he appears to be returning to top form.

Poulter, who is priced at 4.20 to secure overall glory in Texas, also needs to win the event if he is to qualify for next week’s Masters, but he insists he is not thinking about that, as he is solely focused on producing another impressive showing during Sunday’s final round.

“No, not thinking about it, not talking about it,” Poulter was quoted as saying on the PGA Tour website. “I’m going to go out and have some fun tomorrow. There’s a lot of its and buts.”

Overnight leader Beau Hossler sits alongside Poulter at the top of the standings after he carded a third round score of 69, while a group of four players, including Irishman Paul Dunne, are two shots further back.

The likes of Henrik Stenson and Jordan Spieth also remain within striking distance of the lead at Golf Club of Houston, although Rickie Fowler, who started Saturday one shot off the pace, is now six strokes back after his round included both a double and triple bogey.