SINGAPORE: England's Ian Poulter recovered from a disastrous front nine to take a one-shot lead after the third round of the weather-interrupted Barclays Singapore Open.

Poulter held a five-stroke second round advantage but dropped six shots in his opening 10 holes before recovering with four birdies on the back nine to be the outright leader on 202.

He is one ahead of Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, who fired a 67 to put himself into contention when the final round starts later Sunday.

Also in the hunt is China's Liang Wenchong, who is three off the pace and well-positioned to pounce on any more mistakes from the inconsistent Poulter.

A group of seven are two shots further back, including Australia's Andrew Dodt and Denmark's Anders Hansen.

Lurking six behind Poulter are the experienced pair of Ernie Els and Adam Scott, who have both done well in Singapore previously.

Els hit a 72 but it was Scott who impressed, racing up the leaderboard with a 65, the lowest round of the day, as he starts to recover some form after a miserable year of missed cuts.

Scott, a former world number three, who won the tournament in 2005 and 2006, mixed eight birdies with two bogeys.

World number two Phil Mickelson is on four-under-par, seven off the lead, while three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington is out of contention on two over.