Kuala Lumpur: It was a tough day in the office for the Malaysian trio left at the Maybank Malaysian Open as they failed to muster a even-par or better score during the sweltering third round on Saturday.

Starting the round in red, the nation’s top professional Nicholas Fung returned with an one-over 73, sharing 44th place with five others at the US$2.75 million Asian and European Tours co-sanctioned tournament.

The Sabahan was two clear of Khor Kheng Hwai, who posted a 74 while leading amateur Gavin Kyle Green rued some costly mistakes en-route to a three-over 75 at the West Course of Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club to lie tied 60th on three-over 219 .

Starting on the back nine, Fung traded three bogeys with three bogeys to drop to even-par 216 for the tournament.

“I was really excited to be in the weekend rounds for the first time but tried to be a little too aggressive from the start, which wasn’t a good idea. The dry conditions over the last two days meant that the greens were firmer today and too many of my approach shots went past the hole, leaving me with difficult putts to convert,” said the 23-year-old.

“I struck the ball well and converted my share of good putts, which was a big improvement from yesterday. Recovery was almost perfect but I could have been better with my driver off the tees, something which I wish to correct before the final round,” he noted, adding that the was confident of moving up the leaderboard with a low closing round.

Khor on the other hand was left undone by a bogey eight on the 13th, when he sent his drive into the water. “Again, I tried to do my best but didn’t start well. My driving was poor on the front nine and I put myself in a tough position and had to dig deep myself out again.

“Definitely felt that I could have done better because other than that blip, I  managed six birdies against four bogeys, which was a pretty decent return,” shared the 29-year-old.