Ian Poulter gave his hopes of making the Masters a huge boost as a brilliant round of 65 earned him a share of the lead going into the final day of the Houston Open.
Ireland's Paul Dunne is part of a group of four who are two shots off the lead.
Dunne carded a three-under 69 to sit alongside Greg Chalmers, Emiliano Grillo and Kevin Tway on 12 under overall, with a further six players on 11 under.
Needing to win the event to seal his spot at Augusta National, the Englishman carded seven birdies, including two in his final three holes, in a flawless round to put himself firmly in contention to do just that.
His 14-under-par total left him level with American Beau Hossler, who went round in 69, joining Poulter thanks to a birdie at the 18th.
Ryder Cup star Poulter has responded superbly in Houston to the disappointment of narrowly missing out on an automatic place at the Masters, having found himself 51st in this week's world rankings, with the top 50 players receiving an invite to the year's first major.
Poulter had further reason to feel aggrieved after a mix-up saw him informed that he had done enough to qualify ahead of his quarter-final at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, only to be told 10 minutes before his defeat to Kevin Kisner that he required another victory.
