Golf - Higley Shares Malaysia Open Lead

England's Marcus Higley was tied for first place after the third round of the Malaysian Open after sinking a huge birdie putt on the 18th hole.

The 32-year-old Challenge Tour graduate rolled in from 35 feet to card a round of 70 and draw level with Argentina's Ricardo Gonzalez on seven under par.

They were two strokes clear of American Edward Loar, Thailand's Prom Meesawat and Angelo Que of the Philippines.

A bogey at the last saw England's Simon Dyson (73) drop to sixth on four under.

Higley began the day on five under but got off to a dreadful start with bogeys at his first two holes.

He got back on track with birdies on the 6th, 9th and 12th and after a bogey on the 14th, he birdied the final two holes to hold a lead for the first time on the European Tour.

"It feels good," he said. "I'm just going to keep doing the same things I have been doing the last few days and hopefully I will get the same results."

Gonzalez, 37, had earlier carded a three-under-par 69 to put himself in position for his first victory on the tour in three years.

He birdied the 5th and 7th but dropped a shot on the tricky 8th before back-to-back birdies at the 12th and 13th helped him move to the top of the leaderboard.

"I played last Friday in Dubai and made 65, so I came in here with some good confidence," said Gonzalez.

"Tomorrow, I'll try to play like today and make some putts. I think another three under could be a good chance to win the tournament."

Overnight leader Chinarat Phadungsil endured a miserable third round with double bogeys at the 6th and 14th holes blighting his card as he shot a five-over 77 to drop to joint 18th on two under.

Dyson was in a four-way tie for the lead on six under midway through his round after carding two birdies and a bogey on his front nine.

However, the Yorkshireman bogeyed the 12th and 13th to drop to four under and, although he picked up a shot at the 16th, a bogey at the last saw him finish with a disappointing 73.

Having survived the cut by a stroke, Lee Westwood held steady with a solid but unspectacular 71 as he finished the day on level par, while Darren Clarke was one over after also shooting 71.

Two-time winner Thongchai Jaidee missed the cut after a disappointing end to his second round on Saturday morning.

Returning to complete his round after a thunderstorm ended play early on Friday, the Thai moved to within a stroke of the cut line with a birdie on the 16th only to finish on five over after bogeys at the 17th and 18th.