Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee held off a determined challenge from Colin Montgomerie to maintain a two-shot lead after the third round of the million dollar TCL Classic in China today.
Montgomerie fired a five-under-par 67 but Jaidee stood firm under pressure to card a four-under par 68.
However, the round of the day came from Chinese number two Liang Wen-chong, who shot a course record 65 - including a hole-in-one - in blustery, overcast conditions to move to seven under par for the tournament.
New Zealander Michael Campbell, South Korean Charlie Wi and Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng lie a stroke further back.
Ireland's Paul McGinley shot a one under par 71 to sit eight shots off the lead.
Monty, who started the day three shots behind Jaidee, missed makeable birdie opportunities on the first two holes before notching his first on the long 600-yard par-five fourth and followed that with another on the seventh hole.
The Scot nailed a short iron approach to three feet on the ninth hole, the first of three successive birdies, before the putter began to play up.
Jaidee's solitary bogey of the day came on the par-four second hole, when he found a bad lie in a bunker on the right side of the fairway and had to lay up short of the green with his second.
But he then caught fire with birdies on the fourth, seventh, 11th and 13th holes before floating a nine-iron to 10 feet and rolling in the putt on the 18th hole to give himself a two-shot cushion.