Ian Poulter salvaged a one stroke lead heading into the final round of the weather delayed Barclays Singapore Open after battling back to post a one over par third round to edge ahead of Ryder Cup team-mate Graeme McDowell.
Poulter had seen a five stroke halfway lead wiped away in just six holes of his third round on Saturday after paying the price for an aggressive approach before a thunderstorm halted play.
But he returned on Sunday morning to card five birdies against two bogeys over his remaining 12 holes to remain on course for a wire to wire victory.
“It's all fine really. If you are going to shoot one over par, there are a few ways of doing it, and I would rather do it the way I have than made 17 pars and a bogey because I've made five birdies and I'm still hitting good shots,” said Poulter.
“I made a couple of bad choices (on Saturday). The decision on four I really should have laid up, but when everything is going right you seem to make the right decisions all the time, but that was a wrong one. I got burnt for that I have had three three putts on the front nine and that is very unusual for me. But to turn it round and hit the shots I have on the back nine I'm pretty happy.
“I was leading by five and to be honest it didn't feel perfect so it was a bit of a bizarre situation to be in, to have taken that many shots out of the field and for it not to feel right it can either keep going one way or have a little slide one way and unfortunately it slid the other way for a couple of hours.
“But we got off the golf course (on Saturday night) and I came back (Sunday) morning and it was all fine again. It could have been a different story, but I am leading.”
McDowell was equally as impressive on the back nine at Sentosa Golf Club and secured a four under 67 to progress to ten under overall after picking up five shots on his way home.
He missed a six foot birdie putt at the last which would have secured a share of the lead just minutes before Poulter scrambled from a greenside bunker to convert a par, but McDowell was just pleased to be back in contention after battling with swing problems since his 10thplace finish at the US PGA Championship in August.
“It was a good morning. I played the back nice nicely and I hope that continues this afternoon,” he said.
“It feels good to be back in the mix, it has been too long, probably since the PGA that I have really felt in the mix in a tournament. It's been a frustrating couple of months, but you have to just hang in there and wait for your chances and keep positive.”
China's Liang Wen-chong posted a second consecutive three under 68 to claim third at eight under, with Dane Anders Hansen (68), Hong Kong Open champion Lin Wen-tang (68) of Chinese Taipei, Australian duo Andrew Dodt (70) and Scott Hend (70), Swede Niclas Fasth (71) and Japanese duo Kenichi Kuboya (67) and Kodai Ichihara (71) in touch at six under.
