MELBOURNE, Australia— Defending champion Adam Scott shot a 5-under-par 66 Saturday to open up a four-stroke lead at the Australian Masters and close in on a second consecutive win Down Under.
The Masters winner and last week's Australian PGA champion had a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne.
There was a four-way tie for second, including 50-year-old Vijay Singh, who is looking for his first tournament win since 2008.
Singh's 63 left him level with Australians Matthew Griffin (69), Nick Cullen (69) and Nathan Holman (70).
Singh bogeyed the par-4 ninth with a three-putt, but had three birdies on the back nine to move into contention. He started the day seven strokes behind Scott.
He credited a recent switch from a long putter to a conventional one with his strong play Saturday.
"The first nine holes was incredible. I thought I could have birdied every hole. I was 3 under, but the first eight holes I didn't hit anything outside of 10 feet," Singh said.
Singh will play in the final group with Scott, a rare Sunday occurrence for the Fijian veteran who has battled injuries over the past several years.
"After '08 I had a couple of operations on my knee so that kind of got me back two years," Singh said. "And then you start to limp and your whole body kind of reacts differently — I started to have a lot of back aches. But last year it started to get better, and I'm much stronger, healthier and happier."
American Matt Kuchar was tied for sixth after a 67, five back of Scott. Jarrod Lyle, continuing his comeback from a 20-month layoff due to leukemia, shot 70 Saturday and was at even par.
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