Nicklaus Chiam had to dig deep to stay in contention at the PKNS Selangor Masters today, dropping five shots after a promising start before posting a two-over-par 73 to finish the day in a four-way share of the lead.

An eagle at the par-five fifth and a birdie at the sixth proved crucial in keeping the Singaporean level with the charging Matthew Cheung of Hong Kong (66), Australia’s Adam Coull (67) and Thailand’s Poom Pattaropong (69).

Chiam admitted he did not strike the ball as well as in the previous two rounds but was pleased to remain in the mix.

“It wasn’t as good today — I didn’t hit it as well as I did the last two days — but my short game helped me a lot,” he said. “I gave myself a few chances but the putts just didn’t drop.”

Despite the tougher day, he remains upbeat heading into the final round. “I’m still in contention and it’s the first ADT event of the year, so it’s going to be exciting. I just want to enjoy the moment as much as possible and see what tomorrow brings.”

Matthew Cheung

Cheung rebounded from a 72 yesterday to share low-round honours at Seri Selangor Golf Club with an eagle and three birdies on a flawless card, alongside Thailand’s Runchanapong Youprayong and Weerawish Narkprachar.

Two shots off the lead in fifth place, Runchanapong recovered from an early setback with an eagle at the fifth and four further birdies on a largely clean card, joining Marcus Plunkett (69) and England’s Matt Killen (71).

Indonesia’s Jonathan Wijono carded his second consecutive 68 to head the group in eighth place on six-under-par, alongside Malaysia’s Khavish Varadan (71) and Thailand’s Kosuke Hamamoto (74) in the US$175,000 Asian Development Tour season opener.

Hamamoto will be ruing his round after a shaky start that featured four bogeys in his opening stretch. Although he responded with two birdies, two further dropped shots stalled his progress before the turn. He picked up two strokes on the back nine but gave one back at the last to sign for a disappointing 74.

Poom Pattaropong

Pattarapong, who finished tied third here last year, said he feels comfortable at Seri Selangor. “I just love it. I feel like the course really suits me,” he said. “Even though it’s tight, my misses are still in play.”

He added: “You have to hit it straight off the tee and know which side to miss it on because it’s quite slopey. I’m playing smart golf here and that’s why I’ve been consistent.”

Killen felt his round could easily have been better despite a frustrating finish.

“I hit it okay, but a few things didn’t go my way,” he said. “I missed a couple of short putts and then made a mistake on the last. Apart from that, it was alright.”

The Englishman closed with a double bogey but remains firmly in contention. “It would have been nice not to finish with a double, but I’m only two shots back,” he added. “That’s not much.”

Matt Killen

Australia’s Adam Coull credited a fast start and solid driving for his strong round.

“I hit it pretty well off the tee and got it in play,” he said. “I was five under through six or seven holes, which helped me relax into the round.”

Making his first appearance in Malaysia, Coull described Seri Selangor as demanding but fair.

“It’s a really good golf course and very demanding off the tee. You need a good game plan and make sure you get it in play.”

Although the leading Malaysian after three rounds, Varadan admitted his score did not fully reflect how he felt he played.

“The score doesn’t really translate how I played,” he said. “I didn’t have my best on the greens.”

With 56 players remaining following the cut, final-round play will begin at 7.46am off two tees, with the leading group of Pattaropong, Coull and Cheung teeing off at 9.25am.