Keita Nakajima marched one shot clear following the third round of the Mynavi ABC Championship on Saturday, closing in on his third victory of the season.
The former world No. 1 amateur, Nakajima, who started the day one shot off the pace, carded a six-under-par 66 after birdieing five of his last seven holes at the ABC Golf Club, moving to 18-under 198 for the tournament.
Related: Juvic Pagunsan goes low for ABC Championship lead
Taihei Sato birdied the final hole for a solid 67 to ensure he remained close to Nakajima in solo second, while Taiga Semikawa clawed back into contention with the day-low 64, sitting alone in third place at 200.
View this post on Instagram
International stars South Africa’s Shaun Norris (68) and Juvic Pagunsan (70) of the Philippines (70) are tied for fourth at 15-under, promising a thrilling finale where all the top 13 players, including defending champion Mikumu Horikawa, are separated by just five shots.
Nakajima is not only seeking to become the first player to achieve three wins this season, having triumphed at the ASO Iizuka Challenge Golf Tournament and Yokohama Minato Championship, but he could also reclaim the top spot in the money list from Takumi Kanaya.
Kanaya was also making his move on Saturday, shooting a 67 to move into a tie for 17th at 207.
Nakajima looks forward to his eighth time playing in the final group this season. It will also mark the third time he heads into Sunday’s finale as either the leader or co-leader.
View this post on Instagram
“I entered this week’s tournament with confidence, and now that I find myself in a good position going into the final day, I want to enjoy being in the last group and aim for victory,” said Nakajima, who recorded a total of seven birdies, trading them for a bogey.
“I’ve been practicing diligently, and today there were still some areas that needed improvement, so I’ll continue to practice and build my confidence, especially since I’m in good form at the moment.”
When asked if he was paying attention to Kanaya’s progress, he replied: “I was certainly aware that Kanaya-san was making progress, but I was focused on playing my own shots accurately.”
Sato declared that he will be out to give Nakajima a run for his money as he aims for his maiden JGTO breakthrough.
“I definitely want to aim for it (first win). I’ve had many opportunities to contend for victory this year, but sometimes I couldn’t finish strong in the final day’s battle,” he said after marking his scorecard with six birdies and one bogey.
“Tomorrow, I want to leverage those experiences and focus on my own game.”
Leading third round scores:
198: Keita Nakajima 63-69-66;
199: Taihei Sato 65-67-67;
200: Taiga Semikawa 72-64-64;
201: Shaun Norris (Rsa) 72-61-68, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 67-64-70;
202: Ryutaro Nagano 68-68-66, Mikumu Horikawa 67-64-71;
203: Yuki Inamori 70-65-68, Brad Kennedy (Aus) 68-67-68, Yuta Ikeda 68-66-69.
