RUSSELL Knox remained in a share of second place ahead of the final round of the HSBC Champions in Shanghai today.

However, the Scot has unfinished business to take care of, having declined to play the 18th during his third round yesterday as darkness fell following earlier weather delays.

American Kevin Kisner leads by one shot on a 16-under-par total of 200. Knox, Dustin Johnston (65) and China's Hao Tong Li (66) are all on 15 under.

Jordan Spieth shot up the leaderboard to a share of fifth after a 63 that put him on 13 under.

Knox, who was in the final group out along with Kisner and Branden Grace is on three under for his third round with one to play.

The latter pair both opted to play the final hole with Grace collecting a birdie and Kisner making par.

Knox, 30, from Inverness, believes he made the right decision. "Branden and Kevin wanted to get done, but it was awfully dark," he said. "It was into the wind and I was like, maybe I'll just wait until the morning and see if I can catch it downwind or no wind.

"I was happy with my decision. My caddie didn't want me to play the last and I think all in all, they [Grace and Kisner] maybe shouldn't have but they got away with a birdie and a par, so good on them.

"I'm going to have to wake up a lot earlier, starting at 7.45am and I won't tee off again until probably 10.45am. It's going to take the best round of my life tomorrow, so I'm going to have to go for it. Pars are not going to win this tournament. I'm going to shoot at the pin."

Spieth began the day 10 shots behind Kisner, but carded nine birdies and no bogeys to close to within three shots of his fellow American.

The double Major winner took two weeks off after helping the United States retain the Presidents Cup in Korea and had 10 birdies and six bogeys in opening rounds of 68 and 72.

"This will be the first and only time I would say this, but I was not expecting myself to be in this position come Sunday when the week started," said the 22-year-old, who needs to finish in the top 13 to reclaim the No 1 spot from the absent Jason Day, whose wife is due to give birth to their second child. "I came in with very little confidence in my trust of what I'm trying to do in my swing.

"On the range yesterday I found an easier way to get the club in the position I've wanted it to be in the whole week. It freed me up to be able to not think about impact position and just swing through the ball.

"I came out knowing that it was a gettable golf course. I missed four putts inside eight feet – I'm not going to complain about the round but I felt like the way I played could have been 10 or 11 [under], for sure."

England's Ross Fisher played his last eight holes in five under par to card a 65 and join Spieth and his Ryder Cup partner Patrick Reed on 13 under, Reed recovering from a double bogey on the fifth to shoot 68.

Rory McIlroy rued a number of missed chances after a 68 which left him eight shots off the lead, but at least felt better after a severe bout of food poisoning on Tuesday.

"I was glad to be back to 100 per cent healthy and could give it my all out there," he said. "I felt like I played well from tee to green. I gave myself a lot of chances but again I didn't really make anything on the greens. That 68 really felt like a 73 or a 74.