Nick Dougherty's slim hopes of playing in next month's Masters remain alive after an eight-under-par 64 helped him stay in contention for the TCL Classic title in Hainan.

Dougherty needs to add victory tomorrow to his second place in last week's Singapore Masters to have any hope of cracking the world's top 50 to earn a place at the first major of the season.

He did his hopes no harm with one of the best rounds of the day as he kept leader David Howell within striking distance just four shots ahead.

After a sedate opening six holes Dougherty went on a birdie blitz, picking up eight shots over the next 12 - including three consecutive birdies to finish the round.

"I've played the back nine better all week, especially the start of the back nine," said the 23-year-old.

"I needed that finish and those three birdies have really changed the whole scenario for me."

Despite finishing as runner-up in Singapore last week Dougherty complained about the quality of his play and he was still dissatisfied at the start of his week at the Yalong Bay Golf Club in Sanya.

"One of the reasons it was a grind last week was because I had a lot of off-course things going on, a lot of personal things and some of that was resolved last night by coincidence," he said.

"Certainly I tried to enjoy it a bit more, be a bit more laid back today. I tried to appreciate it for what it was, a game of golf. Because of that I freed up a little bit and allowed myself to play the golf that I can.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not hitting how I'd like to but you very rarely do hit it like you'd like to.

"It's a bit of struggle and I'll do some more work on my game this afternoon, but all in all I'm pretty pleased with what's going on."

With scores low all week and four-shot gap between himself and Howell, Dougherty is aiming for another dazzling round in his bid to win the title.

"There is some good quality at the top with Andrew Buckle, who is a quality player, and David Howell, you don't need to say how good he is," he added.

"So I think I need another one of them (a 64) to have a chance."