Scott leads Singh by four into final Masters round

MELBOURNE, Nov 16, 2013 (AFP) - Defending champion Adam Scott will take a four-shot lead into the final round of the Australian Masters after another dominant round at Royal Melbourne on Saturday.

The Augusta Masters winner leads a group of four -- among them, Fijian former world number one Vijay Singh -- as he bids for back-to-back Australian tournament victories after winning last week's Australian PGA title on the Gold Coast.

World number two Scott fired seven birdies and two bogeys in a five-under 66 to be on 14 under.

Singh surged into contention with seven birdies and an eagle in his eight-under 63 to be in a tie for second with Australians Nathan Holman, Nick Cullen and Matthew Griffin.

Singh, the three-time major winner, is searching for his first tournament victory since 2008.

The 50-year-old -- who started the day on two under par, seven behind Scott and Holman -- showed the worth of his recent switch from a long putter to a conventional one, putting impressively during his round.

"The first nine holes was incredible, I thought I could have birdied every hole. I was three under but the first eight holes I didn't hit anything outside of 10 feet," Singh said.

Scott looked on track for a similar round, when he picked up five shots on the front nine, which he ended with three straight birdies.

That took him to 14 under par and a four-shot lead at the turn.

The US Masters champion briefly slipped up, three-putting twice in succession for bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes to slip back to 12 under. Scott regained his buffer, though, with a comfortable birdie on the par-5 15th and another on the 17th.

Scott will go head-to-head with Singh in the final group on Sunday.

American world number eight Matt Kuchar was a shot further back on nine under after a third round 67.