Danny Willett turned in 34 to open up a one-shot lead midway through the third round of the Maybank Championship at Saujana Golf and Country Club.
The Englishman admits he has struggled to find his best form since his stunning victory at the Masters Tournament ten months ago but he looked in fine fettle in Kulala Lumpur.
A trio of birdies on the front nine moved him to 13 under, one shot clear of Austrian Bernd Wiesberger and two ahead of France's Mike Lorenzo-Vera and American David Lipsky.
Lipsky made the first move with a birdie on the opening hole from five feet and when he got on the par five third in two for another gain he was just one off the lead.
Willett made a smart up-and-down from the sand on the same hole to take a share of top spot but that did not last for long as Wiesberger holed a 12-footer on the next for his first gain of the day.
Willett then found himself plugged and with an awkward stance in a greenside bunker on the fifth and while he played a nice escape, he could not make his par putt and the lead was up to two.
Wiesberger had three-putted the third in only making par and he did it again on the par four sixth to see his advantage trimmed back to one shot.
A second consecutive bogey on the next after flying the green left the door open for Willett and the 29 year old burst through it, putting his approach to six feet and hitting the front on his own.
Lipsky dropped a shot after failing to get up and down and he fell to ten under alongside Lorenzo-Vera who had a single birdie on the third.
K.T. Kim was also ten under after making three birdies in four holes from the fourth following a bogey on the second.
Lorenzo-Vera then added a second birdie of the day from ten feet on the eighth to get himself within one of the lead.
All three of the final group also birdied the par five, Wiesberger hitting the green in two and Willett and Lipsky doing well to get up and down.
Frenchman Grégory Havret joined Kim at ten under with seven birdies and two bogeys in his first 16 holes.
Fabrizio Zanotti and Panuphol Pittayarat were four under for the day after 14 and 13 holes respectively to sit at nine under alongside Frenchman Alexander Levy, who had two birdies in his first 11 holes.
Li Haotong, Johannes Veerman and Marc Warren were then at eight under.
