Bertam: Michael Tran  took a gigantic step towards becoming the first Vietnamese player to win on the ASEAN PGA Tour after a sizzling third round at the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) ASEAN Penang Masters.

The 24-year-old Ho Chih Minh-native benefited from a hot start as he birdied the first four holes en-route a six-under 66 at Penang Golf Resort to top the leaderboard wit a 14-under 202 total.

Overnight leader R. Nachimuthu slipped to second, two strokes off the lead after a two-under 70 while Shaaban Hussin kept himself in the mix with a three-under 69 for a 205 overall.

Thailand’s Nakarintra Ratanakul (69) was a further two strokes back in fourth place ahead of Filipino Mars Pucay (68) and local rookie Arie Fauzi (72) in joint fifth on 208.

With just one more round to go, Tran finds himself in a good position to win his second professional tournament since his victory at the Singha Classic in Thailand in December 2011.

Leading third round scores (Malaysian unless stated otherwise)
202 – Michael Tran (VIE) 68-68-66
204 – R Nachimuthu 68-66-70
205 – Shaaban Hussin 67-69-69
207 – Nakarintra Ratanakul (THA) 66-72-69
208 – Mars Pucay (PHI) 71-69-68, Arie Fauzi 67-69-72
209 – Taiki Hara (THA) 71-67-71
210 – Mohd Rizal Amin 68-73-69, Rory Hie (INA) 70-70-70, Khor Kheng Hwai 69-69-72, Chirat Jirasuwan (THA) 68-70-72
211 – Ratchapol Juntavara (THA) 69-73-69, Atthakorn Rodrangka (THA) 74-67-70, Akhmal Tarmizee 69-71-71, Apichart Papitak (THA) 69-71-71, S. Murthy 71-67-73