Puchong: A pulsating final round is on the cards as Arie Fauzi trimmed Nicholas Fung’s lead to one stroke after the third round of the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) I&P Championships at Kinrara Golf Club on Saturday.

The 23-year-old  rookie posted a flawless three-under 68 to move to nine-under 204 for the RM150,000 tournament, just one back from overnight leader and reigning PGM Order of Merit champion Nicholas Fung.

A round of 68 saw Airil Rizman Zahari climb into third place to remain in contention on 207 as Khor Kheng Hwai (71) and R. Nachimuthu (71) were two shots adrift in tied fourth. Former winner Sukree Othman (68) is sixth on three-under 210.

Searching for his first victory on the PGM Tour since turning professional in April, Fauzi will fancy his chances, more so should he continue to better the Malaysian number one Nicholas in the fourth and final round tomorrow.

Arie, who best finish on the PGM Tour was second in the Kelantan Classic in May, continued his overnight momentum with three birdies on the opening nine.

“I played reasonably well today and I’m just carrying forward the momentum from yesterday (when he shot a seven-under 64). I struck the ball much better and with a lot more confidence. The greens are a little grainy for me but I’m compensating that with some really good approaches,” said Arie.

“My putting has been strong and what I have been trying to do whenever I get into trouble is try and be able to bail out and save par – so far it’s going alright, but Nicholas will be hard to beat. Still, I will give it my best shot tomorrow. I’m going to play to my strengths and play in one-shot at a time,” he added.

Leading third round scores
203 – Nicholas Fung 64-70-69
204 – Arie Fauzi 72-64-68
207 – Airil Rizman Zahari 69-70-68
209 – Khor Kheng Hwai 70-68-71, R. Nachimuthu 66-72-72
210 – Sukree Othman 75-67-68
211 – S. Sivachandhran 74-69-68, Iylia Jamil 72-71-68, Rahizam Ramli 69-69-73
212 – Shaaban Hussin 72-70-70, Kemarol Baharin 69-73-70