Chan Yih-shin of Chinese Taipei fired a third round three-under-par 68 at the Macao Open presented by Cityneon on Saturday to stay on track for a second Asian Tour victory.

Chan was tied with Joonas Granberg of Finland after 17 holes but birdied the last to take the outright lead with a 12-under-par 201 total at the Macao Golf and Country Club.

Granberg, who won the Selangor Masters in Malaysia in July, carded a 68 to lie one stroke off the lead in the US$750,000 Asian Tour event.

Mo Joong-kyung of Korea, a two-time Asian Tour winner, fired a blistering 65 courtesy of some solid iron play and a hotter putter to tie in third place with Rikard Karlberg of Sweden, who returned with 68.

Chan made a fast start with birdies on holes two and three to turn in 33. He dropped his first shot of the day on the 12th hole but swiftly recovered with birdies on 13 and 18, where he sank a pivotal birdie from eight feet.

“It has been almost two years since I led in an Asian Tour event and I’m feeling excited. I’ll be lying if I said I’m not feeling the pressure. I might be smiling on the outside but in honest truth the pressure is really mounting inside.

“There are many players who still have a chance to overtake me. I missed many birdie opportunities out there and will need to ensure I don’t make the same mistakes again,” said the 34-year-old, winner of the 2009 King’s Cup in Thailand.

Asian Tour rookie Granberg led the tournament for the first time with a birdie on 12 but slipped back with bogeys on 13 and 14. He birdied 15 and 17 to put himself back into contention and believes it will be tight race to the finish line.

“It doesn’t matter if I’ll be chasing the leader. I need to concentrate on my own game. The last four holes will be very important and that will decide who will win,” said the 24-year-old.

The fast charging Mo of Korea played with a blister on his left toe but it did not stop him from making 23 putts in a round of seven birdies against one bogey to give himself a chance of ending a three-year title drought.

“You got to watch where you hit on this golf course especially on the tee shot. If you hit it in the rough you won’t have a chance to score. I knew anything can happen if I shot a good number and now I have another chance to give a chase,” said the 40-year-old.

Jeev Milkha Singh of India, a two-time Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, Zaw Moe of Myanmar, Australian Adam Groom and highly rated Thanyakon Khrongpha of Thailand were tied in fifth place on 206, five shots off the lead.

The Macao Open has been a regular fixture on the Asian Tour calendar and has previously attracted some of the world’s best players. The tournament has been won by many world stars, including Lee Westwood of England (1999) and Colin Montgomerie of Scotland (2003).

The Macao Open presented by Cityneon will be beamed live during all four rounds on the Asian Tour’s television platform of over 200 nations and 850 million homes, ensuring that Macao will be the centre of attention during the week.

Leading third round scores

201 - CHAN Yih-shin (TPE) 66-67-68.

202 - Joonas GRANBERG (FIN) 72-62-68.

203 - MO Joong-kyung (KOR) 70-68-65, Rikard KARLBERG (SWE) 66-69-68.

206 - Zaw MOE (MYN) 69-70-67, Jeev M SINGH (IND) 68-68-70, Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA) 70-66-70, Adam GROOM (AUS) 67-69-70.

207 - David GLEESON (AUS) 71-70-66, WANG Ter-chang (TPE) 67-73-67, Jbe KRUGER (RSA) 70-68-69.

208 - Martin ROMINGER (SUI) 69-71-68, Adilson Da SILVA (BRA) 71-69-68, Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 72-68-68, Rick GIBSON (CAN) 71-67-70, Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 70-67-71.

Selected scores

215 – ZHANG Lian-wei (CHN) 71-71-73.