Himmat Rai stays in lead at Impian Classic in Malaysia

Kajang: Himmat Rai moved closer to his maiden professional golf title outside India, carding a five-under 67 to share the lead after the third round of the PGM-ADT-CCM Impian Classic.

Rai, who birdied all the par-fives shares the lead with in-form American rookie Jonathan Moore. Rai has a total of 17-under 199 total in the USD 67,000 Asian Development Tour event. Moore, a former US Walker Cup team member and featuring in his first season in Asia, enjoyed five birdies and an eagle for a 65 which pushed him atop the leaderboard with Rai. Rai, 23, birdied all the par fives to give himself a shot at winning a second professional victory after his lone win on the Indian circuit in 2009. "I enjoyed it, I played well. I hit the ball good and did the same things as the past two days. The flags were accessible but I`m playing to the middle of the greens and made a few putts," said the golfer after sinking in six birdies."I`ve been putting well for a while now. It`s always been my strong point. It`s exciting and I`m looking forward to tomorrow. Winning is always a great thing and it`ll be good to get the job done," he added. Co-overnight leader Artemio Murakami of the Philippines will start Sunday’s final round one shot back after signing for a 68 while American Will Yanagisawa finished the day in fourth place, four behind, after a 69.Malaysian Ben Leong produced the day`s lowest round of 64 to move to sixth place on 206. PTI