Liang Wen-chong of China carded a bogey-free four-under-par 68 in the Mercuries Taiwan Masters on Saturday, moving him up the ranks to lead going into the final round.
Liang ended the third round one shot ahead of Malaysia’s Danny Chia with a five-under-par 211 total at the Taiwan Golf and Country Club’s Tamsui course in Taipei.
Despite a solid round, the 36-year-old — who is playing in the tournament for the first time — has downplayed his chances of grabbing the title.
“I don’t want to think so much about tomorrow,” said Liang. “It’s hard to say because anything can happen.”
“This is a very special golf course,” he added. “The conditions can be different every day.”
Liang is the only golfer from China to have placed among the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), but has since slipped to 227th.
Chia, who is the highest ranked Malaysian on the OWGR, kept his place in second despite getting off to a rough start.
“It was a bit of a struggle for me out there,” said the 42-year-old, who carded four birdies against five bogeys.
Meanwhile, overnight leader Rashid Khan of India fell behind to finish in third but is not discouraged for Sunday’s final round.
“I am only two shots back so I think I still have a chance tomorrow,” said Khan, 24.
Scores after round 3 of the Mercuries Taiwan Masters 2015 (par 72)
211 – Liang Wen-chong (CHN) 70-73-68
212 – Danny Chia (MAS) 67-72-73
213 – Rashid Khan (IND) 68-70-75
215 – Antonio Lascuna (PHI) 72-71-72
217 – Jazz Janewattananond (THA) 75-71-71, Yeh Wei-tze (TPE) 71-73-73, Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 75-69-73, Mithun Perera (SRI) 71-72-74
218 – Sung Mao-chang (TPE) 73-77-68, Hung Chien-yao (TPE) 74-72-72, Siddikur Rahman (BAN) 69-74-75