Ian Poulter held on to his one stroke lead midway through the final round of the Barclays Singapore Open but faces serious pressure from Ryder Cup team-mate Graeme McDowell and former Asian number one Liang Wen-chong to complete the wire to wire victory.
After losing a five shot second round lead in just six holes of his third round at the weather-affected event on Saturday, Poulter returned on Sunday morning to rescue a one over par 72 to edge ahead of McDowell, who made his move with a four under 67.
And after making a steady start to his final round on a bright morning at Sentosa Golf Club, Poulter looked on course for a two stroke lead at the turn after picking up two early birdies but he shipped two shots over his final three holes to return to level par, including an agonising miss from four feet at the ninth, to remain at 11 under par overall.
McDowell, playing in the group ahead of Poulter, also reached the turn in level par 36 courtesy of a timely birdie at the ninth, while Liang's earlier bogey at the same hole left him two under through 10.
Sweden's Niclas Fasth played his opening 10 holes in three under to move into fourth at nine under, with Australia's Scott Hend also two under after 12 and a further shot off the pace.
