Ian Poulter birdied the final hole to open a two-stroke lead over fellow Englishman Luke Donald after the third round at the Dunlop Phoenix tournament today.

Poulter coped with demanding conditions to shoot a three-under-par 67 in a testing breeze at Phoenix Country Club.

He posted a 10-under 200 total, while Donald also shot 67 to be alone in second place on 203.

Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Japan's Daisuke Marayama were tied for third, four shots off the lead, while Padraig Harrington shot 73 to plunge six strokes off the pace.

The Open winner and defending champion of this title started the day tied for the lead with Poulter, but littered his card with five bogeys.

"The wind made it a bit more difficult for everybody today but I played very, very solidly and it was nice to shoot a decent score," said Poulter, who like Donald is seeking his first win of the year.
 
"I'm leading, playing well, and if I go out and play well tomorrow we'll have a good result," added Poulter. "Luke's a good golfer. I'm sure he's going to try to make plenty of birdies and it's for me to play well and hold the pack off.

"I don't generally look at who's behind me on the leaderboard. I look at who is ahead of me, and in this position I don't have to look too far in front.

"I just need to play the way I'm playing. The last thing you want to be doing is thinking 'what if I get beaten'."

Donald stumbled shortly before the turn with two consecutive bogeys, but finished strongly, rolling in nice birdie putts at the 14th and 15th holes, before making a 10-foot par save at the 16th.

"I had a spell in the middle where I wasn't holing anything, so it was nice to see a couple go in on that little run there," he said.

Donald has struggled since July, but his caddie and brother Christian as well as instructor Pete Cowen diagnosed a swing fault earlier in the week.

"I'm trying to get my weight back on the right side and it seems to be working," Donald said. "I'm a little bit more fluid in my swing, a little more flowing, able to hit good shots.

"It's nice to get it back. The last two rounds I've felt very much in control, which I haven't done for a while."

Donald has not won in more than 20 months, since the PGA Tour's Honda Classic in March last year.

Asked what a victory on Sunday would mean, he said: "Harrington won last year and went on to great things, so you never know where it will lead."