Thongchai Jaidee attributed his five-under-par 67 at the Enjoy Jakarta Indonesian Open today, which gave him a one-shot lead heading into the final round, to his putting.
The 39-year-old made an impressive start to the third day at New Kuta Golf Club with five birdies on the front nine.
He dropped a shot at the 16th but rolled in his sixth birdie of the round on the 18th to finish the day on nine under, a stroke ahead of Alexander Noren of Sweden, who enjoyed a bogey-free 66.
'My irons were good and consistent except for one hole. But the key was my putting, which was good,' said Thongchai, a 10-time winner on the Asian Tour.
Scott Drummond briefly held the lead after Thongchai's troubles on the 16th but the Scot bogeyed his last two holes for a 69 which dropped him into a tie for third on seven under with Jeppe Huldahl of Denmark (70) and the English quartet of Ross McGowan (69), Richard Bland (66), Simon Dyson (70) and Simon Griffiths (69).
Overnight leader Steve Webster carded a level-par 72 to join India's Jyoti Randhawa (66) and Jamie Donaldson of Wales on six under in the $1.25 million tournament, which is sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours.
Ireland's Gary Murphy sits six shots off the lead on three-under par after his round of 71, while Michael Hoey is four shots further back on one-over.
Thongchai, who returned to action this week after missing the Johnnie Walker Classic because of illness, began his round on four under but took advantage of benign conditions on the front nine to go out in 31.
He rolled home a 12-footer on the second and reeled off consecutive birdies from the fourth to sixth before making another on the ninth to make the turn on nine under, two shots clear of the rest of the field.
He maintained his advantage by parring the first five holes on the blustery back nine but his luck finally ran out when his approach shot on the 16th rolled off the green and he missed his par putt from eight feet.
However, the Thai recovered to roll home a 14-foot birdie on the last to move back into the lead.
After his early rush of birdies, Thongchai was relieved to survive the back nine with little damage.
