Wonder round of 64 catapults Poulter into lead
Ian Poulter is looking forward to a return to the world’s top 50 after a sparkling 64 gave him a four-shot lead entering the final round of the Madrid Open.
The 30-year-old shot eight birdies and kept a bogey off this card for the third day in a row to match the eight-under-par course record set by Sweden’s Peter Gustafsson earlier in the day.
While Poulter was delighted with his return to form, joint overnight leader Padraig Harrington fell seven shots off the pace after a rollercoaster 72 that featured just seven pars.
It was a disappointing day for Ryder Cup-bound Harrington and a frustrating one for team-mates Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke.
After sharing the lead overnight with Orr on 12 under, the 35-year-old Dubliner dropped four shots in the first five holes before battling back to finish where he started.
Harrington said: “I felt I swung the club better and hit it better today but around the greens I just wasn’t with it. I just wasn’t seeing the lines.
“I was hoping to go out and win the tournament today not lose it but if there is a course in Europe where you can shoot 59 this is it.”
It was an equally frustrating day for Olazabal, who won a car for a hole-in-one at the 13th, but admitted it is not that kind of driving that needs attention ahead of next week’s Ryder Cup.
“To be honest, my driving is not working the way I want it too,” said Olazabal, who holed an eight iron from 156 yards.
“Everything is leaking a little right. It is costing me a lot of opportunities.”
Olazabal – who was narrowly beaten to the hole-in-one prize by Jose Rozadilla in the 1997 Spanish Open – plans to work with his coach Butch Harmon when he gets to Ireland next week.
Clarke, who had a putting lesson from Olazabal before his round, admitted that his overall game was not quite as sharp as it had been over the first two days.
After carding five birdies and two bogeys, Clarke said: “I didn’t quite play as well today as I did the previous two days. I just got off to a tough start, two-putting again everywhere.
“I have no complaints at all apart from not knocking enough putts in. I am probably too far back now (to win) but I would still like to go out and shoot a good score tomorrow, a 64 or a 63, something like that.”
Clarke got off to a slow start and was one over par for his round after five holes before firing an eight iron to six inches at the par-five sixth to get back to level for the day.
He then holed from 10 feet at the ninth to start a run of three birdies in a row but dropped another shot at the 12th, where he pulled his drive behind a lone tree and was forced to take a penalty drop.
He got that shot back at the par-five 534-yard 16th, where he hit the green with an eight iron, but again it took him two putts to get the ball in the hole.
Playing in his first event since his wife Heather passed away on August 13, he added: “On the 12th I was four yards left of the fairway and I am underneath the only tree that is there. I had to take a penalty.
“I was going well. I had just birdied three holes in a row and it was the only poor tee shot I pulled a little bit and had to take a penalty drop. It is frustrating.”
Without a win since 2004, Poulter can get back into the world’s elite if he wins the title at La Moraleja tomorrow.
He had two birdie hat-tricks in the middle of his round before picking up two more at the 16th and 18th to lead on 18 under par from Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez, who shot a five-under-par 67.
Sweden’s Christian Nilsson fired a 68 and Scotland’s Gary Orr a 70 to go into the final round five shots behind Poulter on 14 under.
Ranked 53rd in the world, Poulter is determined to move back into the top 50 and earn a place in the WGC-American Express Championship, which will be held at The Grove near London, the week after the Ryder Cup.
“It’s the only reason I am here,” Poulter said. “If I can get in that tournament then I could have a massive finish to the end of the year.
“It’s been a strange year so far, but here we are and things can turn around pretty quickly.”
Poulter failed to retain his place in the Ryder Cup team but still hopes to make something of a disappointing season by picking up his sixth European Tour title.
“I wasn’t actually intending to play this week,” he said. “I entered the tournament late and now I am in the lead. Hopefully I can go out there tomorrow and do exactly the same – keep rolling the ball at the hole.”
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