The present invention provides methods of amplifying a target nucleic acid utilizing a clamp oligonucleotide comprising a first target-binding region on the 3′-terminus and a second target-binding region on the 5′-terminus and tether region in between. The tether region may comprise a variety of user-defined sequences or elements that allow for further manipulation of the target nucleic acid. Such as, for example, capture followed by amplification, identification and/or sequencing. The target-binding regions bind to the target nucleic acid, the 3′-terminus functions as a primer to initiate extension across the target nucleic acid sequence and ligation of the gap results in formation of a circularized nucleic acid. This circular template can be used in a variety of processes, including amplification and sequencing.