Damien McGrane is the nearest Irish challenger to the leading duo in the Malaysian Open after a third round of 70 left him four shots off the pace set by England's Marcus Higley and Argentina's Ricardo Gonzalez.

Higley, a 32-year-old joined Challenge Tour graduate, rolled in a monster birdie putt at the final hole to draw level with Gonzalez on seven-under-par at Saujana Golf and Country Club.

Two strokes back is American Edward Loar (72), Prom Meesawat of Thailand (70) and Angelo Que of the Philippines (68).

McGrane began his round well with birdies at the first and fourth but immediately slipped back to level par for the day with bogeys on the fifth and sixth.

The Irishman traded birdies and bogeys again on the back nine before an eagle on the 17th rescued the round and brought him to three-under.

Darren Clarke improved on his opening two rounds by carding a 71 to move to one-under-par.

While Higley is challenging for his first ever European Tour victory, Gonzalez will be seeking his first Tour win in three years in Kuala Lumpur.

Having done well in recent weeks with fourth place finishes in Abu Dhabi and Qatar, the 37-year-old from Cordoba is full of confidence for the final round.

"I'm very happy. Today I played really well and made a lot of putts," said the Argentinian, who shot a 69 on Saturday.

"I played last Friday in Dubai and made 65, so I came here with some good confidence. Tomorrow, I'll try to play like today and make some putts."

The last of three European Tour wins for Gonzalez came at the Open De Sevilla in 2004 and he is desperate to taste victory again.

"I need to win a tournament. This is my focus for this year.

"This week will be perfect. I've got a good chance for that."

Having survived the cut by a stroke, Lee Westwood held steady with a solid but unspectacular one-under 71 as he finished the day on level par, while Darren Clarke was one over after also shooting 71.

Michael Campbell shot 78 to finish his third round on seven over but later withdrew from the tournament with a shoulder injury.

Two-time winner Thongchai Jaidee missed the cut after a disappointing end to his second round on Saturday morning.

Returning to complete his round after a thunderstorm ended play early yesterday, the Thai moved to within a stroke of the cut-line with a birdie on the 16th only to finish on five over after bogeys at the 17th and 18th.