Ian Poulter fires confident 68 to claim 54-hole lead in Puerto Rico

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.

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.

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"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.

"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.