Kuala Lumpur: Jeev Milkha Singh registered his best card of the week as he moved up to 14th from overnight 25th at the end of the third day of the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic here.
Jeev, despite missing a lot of birdies, had six of them against two bogeys, one of them on the closing 18th just like the second day. However, the last bogey left a bitter taste for the Indian, who is now eight shots behind the leader American Bo Van Pelt (67).
The winner picks up USD 1.3 million at the USD 6.1 million event, jointly sanctioned by the Asian and PGA Tours at the Mines Resort and Golf Club.
SSP Chowrasia, the Asian Tour Order of Merit leader, continued to struggle. He shot a 74 and at seven-over for three rounds, he was last at 48th position.
The field is led by Bo Van Pelt, who charged down the home straight with three birdies in a row from 15th to 17th and ended the day at 67 and a total of 16-under, one clear of overnight leader, Jeff Overton (69) who messed up two chips on the back nine and ended one behind.
Bo Van Pelt, who has just one PGA Tour win back in 2009, has however had five top-10 finishes this season, including a tied eighth at the Masters.
Overton, who has four second places, has never won and is looking for his first win on PGA Tour.
Jeev, who is still recovering from a back strain, said, "I think I just got ahead of myself. I thought I could shoot seven under and ended up with four. I did the same thing on Friday. I think I need to get out of this and stop trying so hard. Just focus on my game and make the most of it."
Expressing his disappointment, Jeev said, "I played really well but once again the putter let me down. I hit it really well and it's really disappointing. They were tricky greens but I should have been more aggressive with some putts.
"I had a good drive on 18 and a 9-iron on a slope but I didn't go through on the shot and bogeyed the hole. The game is good. I just need to follow my process and routine and make putts to put a number out there. I'm a bit too far behind now.
Just give it a go tomorrow. Top-five will be good, need a six or seven under for that tomorrow.
"We had conditions that were the best today. (It was) a bit overcast and sun wasn't out there. The ball was collecting mud but it's the same for everyone. That's the decision by the PGA Tour and we stand by it," he said.
Mark Wilson (67) and second round co-leader Fredrik Jacobson (71) were tied for third place.
Danny Chia (66), the local hero, and Vijay Singh (66) who played his early golf in Malaysia, made big moves up from tied 13th to tied fifth at 11-under, alongside Jason Dufner (65).
Interestingly all three of them were bogey-free.
Van Pelt, has now had rounds of 66, 64 and 67, which includes one bogey each on first two days and two in the first two holes in the third round.
Overton, too, seems to have adjusted to the conditions well with just three bogeys, two on first day and one on third day when he had just three birdies against one bogey.
Bangladesh's Siddikur, fired a three-under 68 and moved up from 38th to 27th at four-under 209.
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