Marcus Higley closed his third round with two birdies to join Argentina's Ricardo Gonzalez on seven under at the top of the Malaysian Open leaderboard on Saturday.

Higley carded a two-under-par 70 and Gonzalez shot a 69 under hot conditions at the Saujana Golf and Country Club for a two-stroke lead.

Chasing the leading duo on 211 were Filipino Angelo Que (68), American Edward Loar (72) and Thailand's Prom Meesawat (70).

Only 24 of the 69 golfers who made the cut shot sub-par rounds as the heat took its toll. Many players had to complete their second rounds in the morning after lightning stopped play late on Friday.

Higley, a European Tour rookie, started with two bogeys but salvaged his round with two of his five birdies on the closing holes.

"It feels good. Obviously it is new territory and I'm sure I'll be nervous, like I was today but I'm just going to keep doing the same things I have been doing the last few days and hopefully I will get the same results," Higley told reporters.

Gonzalez, who hit four birdies against one bogey, is eying his fourth European Tour victory.

"I played last Friday in Dubai and made 65, so I came in here with some good confidence," he said.

"I think another three under could be a good chance to win the tournament."

Second-round leader Chinarat Phadungsil of Thailand shot a five-over-par 77 to drop down to joint 18th, five strokes behind the leaders.

Earlier, European Ryder Cup players Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke made the cut despite poor first round scores.

Westwood scored a second-round 70 for a total of 145 to make the cut by one stroke. He followed up with a third-round of 71 to lie even for the tournament.

Northern Irishman Clarke is a further stroke behind, at 217, after his third round score of 71.

But there was no joy for defending champion Thongchai Jaidee, of Thailand.

Forced to complete his second round on Saturday, Thongchai scored 78 for a total of 149 to miss the cut by three strokes.

The Malaysian Open is the fourth stop of the 2007 Asian Tour and is also co-sanctioned by the European Tour.