Griffin on a high in South Korea

Australian Matthew Griffin battled rain and blustery conditions on Saturday to fire a two-under par 69 and grab a two shot lead in the Charity High1 Resort Open in South Korea.

Matthew Griffin is at nine under after three rounds

Seoul, Sept 8, 2012 (AFP) - After three rounds Griffin is at nine under for the tournament, which is being played on the country's highest golf course in the mountainous Gangwon-do province.

South Korea's Park Sang-Hyun is two shots behind going into the final round, with countryman and favourite Kim Bi-O tied for third alongside Australian Aaron Townsend.

The par of the course was reduced from 72 to 71 before the start of the round after the 10th tee was moved halfway down the fairway when fog prevented visibility from the original box.

"It was a tough day for scoring," said Griffin, according to a OneAsia press release. "I had to hit a few different clubs off the tees because of the wind, but I'm hitting my irons nicely and I'm putting well."

Park, currently third on the OneAsia Order of Merit with earnings of $138,492.12, has twice come close to winning this year and feels the experience will stand him in good stead on Sunday.

"This time I am going to go out there and play my game and look for the chance to push a bit more," he said.

Bi-O, 22, lost his US PGA Tour playing card at the end of 2011 after spending the year as the youngest player on that circuit, but has been the standout player on the OneAsia tour.

"I am just going to go out there and play my game and hopefully it will turn out pretty good," he said.

Scores after round three of the 2012 High1 Resort Open being played at the par 72, 6,542-metre (7,148-yard) High1 Resort Country Club:

206 - Matthew Griffin (AUS) 67-70-69

208 - Park Sang-Hyun (KOR) 69-71-68

209 - Kim Bi-O (KOR) 72-70-67, Aaron Townsend (AUS) 70-69-70

210 - Choi Ho-Sung (KOR) 71-68-71, Lee Jun-Seok (KOR) 70-67-73

211 - Kang Kyung-Nam (KOR) 74-70-67

212 - Mo Joong-Kyung (KOR) 70-72-70, Park Ju-Hyuk (KOR) 69-72-71, Song Young-Hoon (KOR) 74-65-73