Brendan Steele posted a bogey-free 66 to move alongside Justin Thomas at the top of the leaderboard heading in to the final round of the CIMB Classic.
Overnight leader Thomas, who flirted with a rare 59 on Friday before closing an 11-under 61, finished with back-to-back birdies after producing a tidy up-and-down from the back of the 18th green.
Thomas surged up the leaderboard with a run of four consecutive birdies from the fourth, but was left to rue a string of missed putts on the back nine as he chases his maiden PGA Tour title.
"This is where you want to put yourself at every event," Thomas said. "I'm just going to use my past learning experiences in the other events I've played in and just try to go out there and hit a bunch of fairways.
"I'm not driving too well and if I can hit more fairways, I can attack a little bit more. That is what I'll aim for tomorrow. I'm just going to focus on that and try to go make as many birdies as I can."
Kevin Na, who finished up runner-up in Malaysia last year and has finished second in the opening two PGA Tour events this season, lies one shot back after carding a joint-low round-of-the-day 64.
The 32-year-old opened with three consecutive birdies, but got fortunate with a gain at the tenth after finding the rough and the cart path.
"The last few weeks I've never felt so comfortable coming down the stretch," Na said. "I've been unlucky a few times."
A front-nine 30 from James Hahn moved the American in to a five-way tie for fourth on 17 under, with former world No 1 Adam Scott part of the group a further stroke back after a second successive 66.
Patrick Reed completed a blemish-free 66 to join two-time defending champion Ryan Moore, looking to emulate Steve Stricker as the only player win a PGA Tour event three straight years, six shots off the pace.
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