Adam Scott holds a one-shot lead over England’s Ian Poulter halfway through a gripping two-man final-day battle for the Australian Masters title at Melbourne’s Kingston Heath.

The Australian world No.5 started on Sunday a shot behind the defending champion, with no one else realistically in contention.

The lead changed six times over the first six holes as the two tournament drawcards lived up to their top billing.

A precise approach set up Scott for a tap-in birdie at the first to join Poulter in the lead at 13 under.

The Australian sunk a stunning birdie putt of about 20m, from the fringe off the front of the green, on the second to leap into the outright lead.

But after that great work with his long putter, Scott missed shorter putts on the next two holes to record a par and a bogey while Poulter went birdie-par to rejoin Scott in the lead then overtake him and move to 14 under.

Poulter found a greenside bunker on the fifth to bogey and slip back to 13 under and they shared the lead.

Scott then seized outright top spot on the sixth with a superb chipped approach to within a metre setting up a simple birdie putt and lifting him back to 14 under.

That was the sixth lead change and the momentum seemed set to swing again when Poulter put his approach to within less than a metre on the seventh to set up another birdie.

But Scott holed a birdie putt of about seven metres to retain his one-shot buffer.

He again faced a longer birdie putt than Poulter on the par-three eighth but both players nailed them.

A solid par on the ninth gave Scott a four-under-par 32 for the outward nine and a 16-under total, one better than Poulter.

New Zealand’s Mark Brown held third spot a distant nine shots from the lead, while Queensland’s Adam Crawford produced the round of the day, a seven-under 65, to sit fourth on six under.

Fellow Queenslander Matthew Guyatt, who led for the first two days and started on Sunday in third place, was five over par for his first nine holes to slip to two under and a share of eighth spot.