Poulter not out of the chase yet for first major title

Ian Poulter could have let an unlucky break on No. 17 carry over to his final hole Saturday in the third round of the Masters.

Instead, the Englishman responded. After seeing his birdie attempt spin around the cup and out, Poulter closed his day at Augusta National with a birdie on No. 18.

“That was nice after what happened at 17,” Poulter said. “I had a full horseshoe-and-out there.”

With that final birdie, Poulter carded 68 on moving day and enters the final round four shots behind leader Francesco Molinari. While speaking with reporters, Poulter received word that his Ryder Cup teammate had extended his lead with a birdie on No. 15.

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“Frankie just birdied four in a row, so I can only do what I can do at this point,” Poulter said. “I need to make some birdies tomorrow.”

Saturday marked Poulter’s most efficient day this week on the greens, with a mere 27 putts. According to the 43-year-old, he believes low scores will be achievable again in the final round.

“The greens are soft,” he said. “This course is receptive and we’ll all be out early (Sunday) morning. We’ll all be on the golf course, so we’ll know if somebody’s going low. I need to go as low as I can and see what happens.”

After carding 34 on his opening nine, Poulter finished with a flurry of birdies on Nos. 13, 15 and 18. His lone miscue of the day came on No. 11, where he misfired his second shot and made bogey.

“Not getting up and down on 11 was frustrating, especially having just a 7-iron (into the green),” Poulter said. “I was aiming for the middle of the green and pushed it a little bit. That was really my only mistake of the day, and I paid the price.”

Poulter, who’s tied for fifth, has never had a top-five finish in 13 previous Masters appearances.