Thailand’s Settee Prakongvech will carry a commanding three-shot lead into the final round of the am green IGPL Bharath Classic after carding a four-under-par 68 on Saturday. The 31-year-old from Bangkok, who is searching for his breakthrough maiden title on the Asian Tour, built his advantage during a crucial mid-round stretch that separated him from the rest of the field. Overcoming a quiet start and finish, Prakongvech fired three consecutive birdies beginning at the fifth hole and added another at the 12th to reach 13-under par overall for the US$500,000 tournament.

Overnight co-leader Runchanapong Youprayong and Sweden’s Charlie Lindh sit tied for second place at 10-under par, with both players also vying for their first career victories on the Asian Tour. Youprayong stumbled late in his third round, carding a costly double bogey on the par-five 14th hole to finish the day with a 71. Conversely, Lindh capitalized on calmer wind conditions early in the day, executing an aggressive game plan to card two birdies in his first three holes en route to a solid 67.

Despite holding the outright lead, Prakongvech admitted he left several scoring opportunities on the course, particularly on the par-fives. The Thai standout managed only one birdie across the four longest holes, noting that missed five-foot putts on the third and 18th holes prevented him from extending his margin even further. However, his exceptional ball-striking, highlighted by a brilliant four-iron struck into a strong headwind on the par-three fifth, kept his game in great shape and his position atop the leaderboard secure.

Further down the pack, England’s Sam Broadhurst and American Charles Porter matched the lowest scores of the third round by each firing seven-under-par 65s. Broadhurst, the son of six-time DP World Tour winner Paul Broadhurst, leaped into a tie for fourth place at nine-under alongside Thailand’s Poom Saksansin. As the players prepare for Sunday’s final round, the field will look to chase down Prakongvech before the Asian Tour departs the Atlantic coast of Morocco and moves to Rabat for next week’s US$2 million International Series event.