Ian Poulter wouldn't quite take the bait when asked whether his mini-charge onto the Masters Tournament leaderboard Saturday would be enough to help him overcome, at that time, a seven-shot deficit.

Ian Poulter hits onto the No. 2 green. Poulter, Sean O'Hair, Steve Stricker, Steve Flesch and Jim Furyk tied for low score with 68. (Michael Holahan/Staff)

"It depends on how the course is going to play," Poulter said. "If the greens stay softish, if they put some fairly generous pins, then you can make quite a few birdies out there. But obviously if that's the case, then the leaders are going to be able to make a few birdies."

That's the conundrum Poulter and Sean O'Hair face today after shooting 4-under par 68, tying Steve Stricker, Steve Flesch and Jim Furyk for low score Saturday. They are within sniffing distance of the leaders, but a favorable course setup and expected good weather conditions today could hurt as much as help in making the ultimate comeback.

O'Hair, like Poulter, is 4-under for the tournament and finished a couple of hours before the final pairings. He doesn't believe he's out of the tournament, despite trailing leaders Kenny Perry and Angel Cabrera by seven shots.

"You could definitely have somebody catch on fire," O'Hair said. "I don't think you're going to have those 28, 29, 30 rounds on the back nine, but you'll probably have a couple guys shooting 3-, 4-, maybe even 5-under par on the back nine if they catch fire."

The 26-year-old Texan would love to be that guy, which could go a long way toward erasing some of the bad moments he's had at high-profile events. O'Hair's most recent hiccup came three weeks ago at the Arnold Palmer Invitational when he gave up a five-shot lead to Tiger Woods. His demise was aided greatly by missed fairways and a wayward approach to the 16th green that found water.

To the public, O'Hair, a two-time PGA Tour winner, is probably best known for his misadventures at the famous par-3 17th in The Players Championship in 2007. He splashed two balls into the water in the final round, giving up his 54-hole lead and the win to playing partner Phil Mickelson.

O'Hair wouldn't bite when asked whether a win today would help erase those bad memories.

"I don't have any really bad memories," he said. "I'm playing well, and I've had a good year so far, and I'm just going to keep playing well."

Reach Mike Wynn at (706) 823-3218 or mike.wynn@augustachronicle.com.

IAN POULTER 3rd Round
Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Tot
Par	4	5	4	3	4	3	4	5	4	36	4	4	3	5	4	5	3	4	4	36	72
Rnd	4	5	4	2	4	3	4	4	5	35	4	4	3	4	3	4	3	4	4	33	68
Tot	0	0	0	-1	-1	-1	-1	-2	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1	-2	-3	-4	-4	-4	-4	-4	-4
2nd Round
Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Tot
Par	4	5	4	3	4	3	4	5	4	36	4	4	3	5	4	5	3	4	4	36	72
Rnd	4	5	4	3	4	3	5	5	3	36	4	4	4	5	4	5	3	4	4	37	73
Tot	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1	0	0	-1	-1	-1	-1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	E
1st Round
Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Tot
Par	4	5	4	3	4	3	4	5	4	36	4	4	3	5	4	5	3	4	4	36	72
Rnd	4	5	3	4	3	3	4	4	5	35	5	4	3	4	3	5	4	4	4	36	71
Tot	0	0	-1	0	-1	-1	-1	-2	-1	-1	0	0	0	-1	-2	-2	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1

SEAN O'HAIR 3rd Round
Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Tot
Par	4	5	4	3	4	3	4	5	4	36	4	4	3	5	4	5	3	4	4	36	72
Rnd	5	4	4	3	3	3	5	4	4	35	3	4	3	4	3	6	2	4	4	33	68
Tot	1	0	0	0	-1	-1	0	-1	-1	-1	-2	-2	-2	-3	-4	-3	-4	-4	-4	-4	-4
2nd Round
Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Tot
Par	4	5	4	3	4	3	4	5	4	36	4	4	3	5	4	5	3	4	4	36	72
Rnd	4	6	3	3	4	3	6	5	6	40	4	5	3	4	4	5	3	4	4	36	76
Tot	-4	-3	-4	-4	-4	-4	-2	-2	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	E
1st Round
Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Tot
Par	4	5	4	3	4	3	4	5	4	36	4	4	3	5	4	5	3	4	4	36	72
Rnd	4	4	3	4	4	3	4	5	3	34	4	4	4	4	3	5	2	5	3	34	68
Tot	0	-1	-2	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1	-2	-2	-2	-2	-1	-2	-3	-3	-4	-3	-4	-4	-4

Sean O'Hair acknowledges the crowd after his birdie putt on 5. After three rounds, O'Hair is seven strokes behind the leaders. ()