Ian Poulter fires confident 68 to claim

 54-hole lead in Puerto Rico

By Keith Jackson @KeithDJackson

Ian Poulter is in prime position to claim his first victory since 2012 as he goes into the final round of the Puerto Rico Open with a one-shot lead.

Poulter, who stormed into contention with a best-of-the-day 66 on day two at Coco Beach, fired a confident 68 with two late birdies earning him the outright lead ahead of American trio Tony Finau, Jonathan Byrd and Steve Marino.

Leaderboard

Puerto Rico Open

The Ryder Cup star decided to make his debut in the tournament after missing out on a place in the WGC-Dell Match Play by just 0.044 world ranking point, and it continued to prove a worthwhile move as he looks for a confidence boost ahead of the Masters.

Poulter opened up with a birdie at the first, and he added further birdies at the fifth and eighth holes before he made his first bogey since Thursday at the 13th after finding water off the tee.
But he responded with back-to-back birdies at 15 and 16, and two closing pars kept him on top of the leaderboard on 11 under par and well placed to end a winless run which stretches back to the WGC-HSBC Champions in 2012.
Poulter did well to get up and down for par at the last, where he bunkered his third shot and holed from 15 feet to salvage a five, and he said: "It was a big save. Obviously it's a par-five, it's pretty much reachable in two off of a decent drive and I kind of left myself in an awkward spot.
"It wasn't lying very well on the right-hand side just short of the green. I guess I got a little bit too cute, hit it in the front trap, splashed it out to 15 feet, but I rolled that par putt in the middle. Each putt like that obviously makes a difference at the end of the week.
"We got here very late, early hours of Wednesday morning, but I felt comfortable. I like the windy conditions, it kind of takes me back to hitting some old-school shots and I feel comfortable on the course.

Poulter insisted he is enjoying the windy conditions at Coco Beach

"The ball was kind of boring through that strong wind, so you're still able to get good distance out there. But I'm happy. I'm happy how I've hung in there nicely."
Finau birdied the final hole to cap a flawless 67 which briefly earned him the clubhouse lead on 10 under, while PGA Tour veterans Byrd (68) and Marino (69) also coped well with the blustery conditions to claim a share of second.

Overnight leader and home favourite Rafael Campos had an adventurous first seven holes, mixing three birdies with three bogeys and a double-bogey at the fourth, but he recovered to come home in 34 with birdies at 12 and 16 to return a level-par 72 which left him two shots adrift of Poulter.
But Luke Donald's hopes of qualifying for the Masters faded as he offset four birdies with as many bogeys in his 72, and he will start the final day out of contention on two under par
Donald is T44 on 214 after rounds of 69, 73 and 72.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

 Poulter's heckler gets fired by employers

A heckler may have won the battle with Ian Poulter at the recent Valspar Championship, but it appears the Englishman has won the war.
The man who heckled Poulter last week in Tampa and then continued to harass him on Twitter has been fired by his employer, Florida newspaper The Ledger reported.
J.J. Downum ribbed Poulter about hitting shots into the water and not making the Ryder Cup team this fall, then put the spotlight on himself when he bragged about his actions on Twitter to @BarstoolTrent of Barstool Sports. The series of tweets caught the eye of Poulter, who brought them to the attention of Florida Southern College in nearby Lakeland, Fla., where Downum worked as an assistant athletic director:
Downum's account - which included a reference to Florida Southern in the handle - was deleted Monday, but that reportedly wasn't enough to save his job after his story gained traction on social media.
"He's no longer employed at the institution," Pete Meyer, Florida Southern's director of athletics, said on Wednesday.