Ian Poulter Soars Up Houston Open 2018 Leaderboard to Take Saturday Lead

Ian Poulter, who found himself in a tie for 123rd place after Round 1, is miraculously tied for the lead heading into the final round of the 2018 Houston Open after firing a seven-under 65 on moving day to reach 14 under overall at the Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas.

Second-round leader Beau Hossler is also at 14 under with 18 holes to play in the final PGA Tour warm-up event before The Masters, the season's first major.

Greg Chalmers, Emiliano Grillo, Kevin Tway and Paul Dunne are in a four-way tie for third, two strokes behind the leaders.

What a remarkable turnaround by Poulter.

The 42-year-old Englishman needs a victory in the Houston Open to qualify for The Masters next week. Those chances seemed to go by the wayside Thursday when he carded a one-over 73, which left him nine strokes off the lead pace.

He bounced back with a bogey-free 64 during the second round and nearly matched that effort Saturday with seven birdies and no bogeys en route to a 65.

The PGA Tour highlighted some of his strong work with the putter, a major key over the last two days:

Hossler wasn't able to match Poulter's shotmaking the past two days, but he's posted three straight rounds in the 60s to stick atop the leaderboard.

Like his co-leader's sudden surge, it would have been hard to predict the 23-year-old American's push for a title after missing two cuts in his last three events and finishing 66th in the Arnold Palmer Invitational during his most recent start.

Jason Sobel of ESPN.com provided some background details on Hossler's uptick in form:

All signs point to an entertaining final round Sunday. There are countless storylines to follow, led by Poulter trying to cap off his terrific comeback with a win to clinch a Masters berth. Of course, several other players in contention, including Hossler, would love to earn that shot at the green jacket for themselves.

The likes of Henrik Stenson, Matt Kuchar, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler, all of whom already have a ticket punched for Augusta, are still close enough to steal the spotlight, too.