Keita Nakajima brilliantly birdied his final hole to join JGTO journeyman Jang Dong-kyu at the top of the Hana Bank Invitational leaderboard, keeping his hopes alive of making it two wins on the trot.
Nakajima, who began the day two shots off overnight leader Taihei Sato, shot a four-under-par 69 after sinking five birdies against a lone bogey at the par-73 Chiba Isumi Golf Club to reach the 54-hole mark at 15-under-par 204.
Related: Juvic Pagunsan keeps dealing birdies to stay in hunt
It was Jang the first to conquer the summit after a hole-in-one helped him sign for the day’s best score of 65.
He holed out with a five-iron from 203 yards on the par-three 11th to add glitter to his already impressive scorecard which featured also nine birdies, including five of his opening six holes.
Jang, whose sole JGTO success was winning the 2014 Mizuno Open, also conceded three bogeys hole numbers seven, eight and 14, but he could still afford a big smile.
“I am happy to make an ace today, this was the second time in Japan and the fourth time in my career. I could hit as I imagined on the 11th hole,” said Jang.
“My driver has got a lot better since last week, so I have regained my confidence back. When I made an eight-meter birdie putt on the 1st hole, it has given me the momentum to ride on afterwards. ”
With this week’s event being the first-ever to be jointly sanctioned by JGTO and KPGA, Jang knows exactly what’s at stake for him.
“If I’m able to win this week, I can attain the tour cards in Japan and Korea. But it’s important I don’t get carried away and focus on my game tomorrow,” said Jang, who has played a full season in Japan every year since 2011 except in 2016 and 2017.
Nakajima was glad to be playing in the final group once again as he put himself a step closer to his career’s first back-to-back titles.
The 22-year-old said he managed to catch some of the US Open action before teeing off and it has left him inspired.
“Looking at the leaderboard after finishing the round, I feel great to be in the final group on Sunday,” said Nakajima.
“Being in the final group for four consecutive weeks, I honestly feel tired. but I was watching the US Open this morning, if you look at those in the field, they must be competing with a strong mind.
“The US Open motivated me, of course, I wanted to play there in the near future. But for now, my focus is on JGTO and I would like to get more wins.”
Just a further shot back in a tie for third were Taiga Nagano and KPGA’s Yang Ji-ho, who posted matching 69s, while Sato could only salvage an even-par 73 to slide down to outright fifth and two shots off the pace.
Australia’s Anthony Quayle survived a roller-coaster day to return a solid 71 to stay on the right track for his first top-10 finish of the season.
He mixed five birdies with a bogey and a double bogey to sit in a nine-way tie of 14th on 210 that included Juvic Pagunsan of the Philippines (73).
“I’m just not driving the golf ball very well at the moment. I’m experimenting with a couple of different drivers. But I’m playing really well, I can get myself into position a little bit more tomorrow,” he said.
