Kuala Lumpur: Highly rated Gavin Green of Malaysia fired a three-under-par 69 to open up a five-shot lead after the third round of the PGM Northport Glenmarie Championship on Friday.

The 21-year-old, who turned professional in June, totalled 16-under-par 200 to lead over an in-form Casey O’Toole, who shot a 65, and Blake Snyder (67) of the United States at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club.

Airil Rizman of Malaysia and Lam Chih Bing of Singapore were a further shot back in tied fourth place following rounds of 67 and 72 at the RM200,000 (approximately US$55,400) Asian Development Tour (ADT) event.

Green, who finished his second round on Friday morning with a remarkable 64, continued his surge up the leaderboard thanks to his big hitting game where he birdied all the par fives.

“I hit it pretty good but I didn’t make any putts. It could have been a lot lower if I didn’t miss the short putts. I’m still going to play aggressive on the final day. I won’t hold back. I will try and shoot the low round of the day,” said Green.

He is beginning to reap the benefits of working with new coach Chris O’Connell, who is also the coach for Matt Kuchar.

“I’m still working on my swing. It is not 100% there yet. It still needs a lot of work but the swing is better now. The mechanics are a lot more stable in the swing now,” he explained.

The winner of the PGM Northport Glenmarie Championship will take home a prize purse of US$9,615 and receive six Official World Golf Ranking points. The top six players and ties will also earn points based on a sliding scale.

Since it was inaugurated in 2010, the ADT has grown from five events in the first year to 21 tournaments in 2014. A record 24 tournaments have been confirmed for the 2015 season.

The ADT will continue to reward the top-five finishers on the final Order of Merit with Asian Tour cards for 2016.

With the Olympic Games looming in 2016 where golf will be reintroduced as a medal sport, players in the region could earn their spots in Rio de Janeiro by earning Official World Golf Ranking points through the Asian Tour and ADT.

For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com.

Leading third round scores:

200 - Gavin GREEN (MAS) 67 64 69
205 - Casey O'TOOLE (USA) 70 70 65, Blake SNYDER (USA) 70 68 67
206 - Airil Rizman ZAHARI (MAS) 69 70 67, LAM Chih Bing (SIN) 70 64 72
208 - Sukree OTHMAN (MAS) 67 71 70
209 - Nirun SAE-UENG (THA) 73 70 66, Chanat SAKULPOLPHAISAN (THA) 71 71 67, Nicholas FUNG (MAS) 67 71 71, Jordan IRAWAN (INA) 66 72 71
210 - Sutijet KOORATANAPISAN (THA) 70 70 70, Smithti TEERATRAKUL (THA) 66 74 70
211 - Tommy Mou (TPE) 71 71 69, Danthai BOONMA (THA) 73 71 67, Malcolm KOKOCINSKI (SWE) 74 65 72, Thammanoon SRIROJ (THA) 69 69 73
212 - Josh SALAH (USA) 70 73 69, KOH Deng Shan (SIN) 71 71 70, Janne KASKE (FIN) 72 71 69, R. Nachimuthu (MAS) 71 70 71, Arie Irawan (MAS) 69 71 72, Danny MASRIN (INA) 68 72 72
213 - Phachara KHONGWATMAI (THA) 76 66 71, Jakraphan PREMSIRIGORN (THA) 74 69 70, Panuwat MUENLEK (THA) 74 69 70, Greg MOSS (USA) 72 69 72, LOW Khai Jei (A) (MAS) 72 69 72, Danny CHIA (MAS) 73 71 69, Rizal AMIN (MAS) 76 68 69.