Ian Poulter chasing history at the Houston Open

HUMBLE, Texas — Ian Poulter has the chance to do something special tomorrow at the Houston Open. But he doesn’t want to think or talk about it. Asked after he posted a bogey-free 65 on Saturday — his second straight round without a blemish on the card — what a return to the Masters would mean if he won on Sunday, Poulter was quick to squash the question. “No, not thinking about it, not talking about it,” Poulter said. “I’m going to go out and have some fun tomorrow. There’s a lot of its and buts.” Poulter is correct; there’s no point in thinking about something that’s still very much up in the air. But considering where Poulter was at the beginning of the week, it’s impossible to not wonder what tomorrow would look like if the 42-year-old managed to secure his first TOUR title since 2012 — a win that would also earn him a spot in the field at Augusta National Golf Club. Poulter opened with 73 on Thursday and looked to be out of contention before he even had a chance to get going — to the point that he packed his suitcase to go home Friday night. Instead of fading into the background, Poulter played the next 36 holes in 16 under to rocket up the leaderboard. For a guy who said he had “no expectations” going into the weekend, Poulter is suddenly playing his best golf in the most pressure-packed of situations while trying to have fun on the course at the same time. Poulter attributed his run of good form this week to an adjustment he made to his shoulder position that helped him find a spark on the greens. Through three rounds he ranks ninth in strokes gained: putting. “Just opened my shoulders slightly,” Poulter said. “I’ve been seeing my lines a lot easier and been rolling a few putts in. So good golf has obviously been rewarded with rolling a few putts in.” With a hot putter in his hands, Poulter will be chasing history tomorrow in Humble. Should he go on to win, he would become the first player in the last 35 years to win a TOUR event after being tied for 123rd or worse after the first round. There’s also a TOUR title and a Masters invite on the line. But Poulter isn’t worried about any of that — at least not yet. “I’m in a funny position, right? I said to you guys I’ve got no expectations going out on the golf course,” Poulter said. “I didn’t have any expectations, I just went out to play golf. I’m going to do exactly the same tomorrow regardless.” OBSERVATIONS With a 76 on Saturday, Lee Westwood’s hopes of making a 14th straight Masters appearance came to a disappointing end. A runner-up at Augusta in 2010 and 2016, Westwood was making his first TOUR start of 2018 in a last-ditch effort to win his way into the field. Asked after his round when he might play again on TOUR, Westwood was non-committal, saying there was a chance he might not make another start in the States before the end of the year. Phil Mickelson ended his third round the way it began, at 5 under after 54 holes. The route Mickelson took to shoot 72, however, was anything but conventional. The round included a triple-bogey, double-bogey and two separate stretches where he made three straight birdies. “I’m a little worried that I missed some [drives] that I haven’t been missing and so I’ll have to work on that,” Mickelson said. Four three-putts in the first eight holes had Jordan Spieth wondering “what if” after three rounds. Spieth kept his cool and made two birdies on the back-nine to shoot 71, but without the putter struggles on the front side, the former FedExCup champion would likely be a lot closer than four shots off the lead. “I just got a little anxious trying to get out there early and make a statement, and the greens sped up a good foot today and I didn’t make that adjustment,” Spieth said. If Rickie Fowler comes up short this week, he’ll look back at the par-5 13th hole as the spot where things took a turn for the worse. Fowler battled back from a double-bogey on the front with four birdies to make the turn in 34, but a triple-bogey on the 13th proved to be too much for the four-time TOUR winner to overcome. Fowler lost his ball left off the tee and was forced to drop; he compounded the mistake by three-putting from 11 feet. He’ll start the final round five shots behind Poulter and Hossler. The leaderboard remains bunched with Ian Poulter and Beau Hossler holding a two-shot lead after 54 holes. A total of 14 players are within four, including TOUR winners Henrik Stenson, Matt Kuchar and Jordan Spieth. Three of the last four Houston Open winners were four or more shots back of the lead entering the final round. Lee Westwood wasn’t the only player in the field who saw his Masters hopes come to an end on Saturday. Bill Haas and Brandt Snedeker MDF’d and will miss out as well. Haas is out of the field for the first time since 2009 while Snedeker’s streak ended at seven consecutive starts, dating back to 2010. NOTABLES Henrik Stenson – Stenson followed up a pair of 68’s with a 69 on Sunday. He only has two bogeys on the card after 54 holes and sits three back of the leaders. Made five birdies during the third round, including a 32-footer on the last. Justin Rose – Broke his streak of seven straight sub-70 rounds with a 72. Tripled the 11th but still managed to pour in three birdies on the back to cancel out the big number. Matt Kuchar – Kuchar posted his third straight sub-70 round to move into contention at 11 under. Ranks sixth this week in strokes gained: putting with more than 311 feet worth of made putts. Keith Mitchell – Two bogeys in the last three holes kept Mitchell from the penultimate group. He’ll still have the chance to build on last week’s runner-up finish at the Corales Puntacana just three back. Mitchell’s 67 was highlighted by seven birdies in 10 holes (Nos. 6-15). Julian Suri – The 72nd-ranked player in the world Monday qualified for the Houston Open and sits in a good position to possibly top-10 in his fifth TOUR start of the season. A 73 on Saturday has him three back of a group of six players at T7. Greg Chalmers – Eight birdies in 13 holes vaulted Chalmers 39 spots up the leaderboard. A 65 was his lowest round on TOUR since he posted the same score during the second round of the 2015 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. At 12 under, Chalmers is searching for his second TOUR victory. QUOTABLES I’ll be nervous just like I always am. I’ve learned at each stage of golf that I’ve played from junior golf to amateur golf to now playing professional golf that winning tournaments is difficult and it takes a level of comfortability to do that. SUPERLATIVES Low round: 65 – Thanks to a pair of 65’s, Ian Poulter and Greg Chalmers will go off in the final two groups on Sunday. Longest drive: 381 yards – Tony Finau recorded the longest drive of the day on the par-5 8th hole. Longest putt: 53 feet, 1 inch – Beau Hossler saved par on the par-4 5th hole after his third shot came up well short of the hole. Easiest hole: Par-5, No. 8 (4.589) with 2 eagles, 42 birdies, 38 pars and 7 bogeys and 1 double bogey. Hardest hole: Par-4, No. 5 (4.344) with 8 birdies, 51 pars, 25 bogeys, 4 double bogeys and 2 others. CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY

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