In a dramatic finish to the third round of the US$2 million International Series Japan presented by Moutai, Lucas Herbert made an eagle two on the par-four 16th, followed by a regulation eagle on the par-five 18th to catch up with Yuta Sugiura and Younghan Song on top of the leaderboard.
Related: Lucas Herbert flounders but keeps lead in Japan
The 29-year-old Australian, leader by one at the start of the day, seemed to be struggling with his game and was five shots behind with three holes to play at the par-71 Caledonian Golf Club in Chiba.
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However, the Ripper GC star on LIV Golf scripted a rousing finish. He drove the green on the reachable 16th and converted a 21-foot putt. On the 18th, he struck his second shot from 188 yards to 10 feet for a two-under round of 69.
That lifted him to 13-under for 54 holes, joining Japan’s Sugiura (66) and Korea’s Song (68).
Moments earlier, Sugiura made a bogey on the 18th after smashing his 78-yard wedge shot over the green. That undid a magical eagle on the 345-yard 16th, where he had hit his drive to six feet.
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England’s Sam Horsfield had set the marker in the clubhouse at 12-under, thanks to a blistering eight-under round of 63. He was nine-under through 16 holes, but made a bogey from the bunker on the par-three 17th and could not make a birdie from 12 feet on the 18th.
Australia’s Travis Smyth and Guatemala’s Jose Toledo both shot matching rounds of 68 to move to T5 at 10-under.
Herbert made an early bogey on the third hole, and then dropped a couple of shots around the turn to be two-over for the round as he walked to the 16th tee.
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“It was a frustrating day heading into the last three holes, but golf is a funny game like that. You can turn around a very frustrating day and make it pretty productive. So, got the lead after all three rounds. Hopefully, I will have the lead after all four rounds,” said Herbert, who matched the course record with a 62 on the opening day.
“I was just slightly off. It was a little tricky with the wind, which was gusting around everywhere. I didn’t think that was super easy. Just wasn’t that far off, and probably just trying a little bit too hard. I thought today was a really good opportunity to try and stretch a lead out and get a long way away from the field.
“Once I kind of let go of that mentality, I was able to come back and refocus on what was in front of me.”
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Asked what he needed to do on Sunday to get his first international title in almost two years – his last win was also in Japan at the 2023 ISPS Handa Championship, Herbert said: “We shoot five-under tomorrow, I’d say it’s probably good enough.
“I haven’t played with Sugiura before, but I just played with Song, who is also leading going into tomorrow. They are both 13-under and are obviously good players. So, we will just have to roll with the punches tomorrow. If they are making a lot of birdies, I am going to have to try to go with them.”
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Sugiura leads the home challenge and will be looking for his first Asian Tour victory. The 24-year-old is no stranger to winning, having won the 2023 Dunlop Phoenix Open, one of the most prestigious titles on the Japan Golf Tour, as an amateur, followed by the Japan PGA Championship last year.
Bogey-free through his first two rounds of successive 67s, the promising Sugiura started and closed Saturday with bogeys, but shot his best round of 66.
“Today, I could make more putts than the last two days which led to a good score. It’s nice to finish on top of the leaderboard and play in the final round in a good position. I want to try my best to win and also enjoy the nervousness of playing in contention,” said Sugiura.
“Of course, it would be great to have a bogey-free round, but it feels like birdies don’t come easily when you play golf with that as your main goal. So, while the bogey on the first was the result of a mistake (a poor tee shot), it couldn’t be helped.”
Song, who defeated the then world No.1 Jordan Spieth to win the 2016 SMBC Singapore Open for his only win on the Asian Tour, birdied the last to join the leaders.
“My putting was great at the start and I was happy with that, but in the middle, my shots weren’t that great. I thought I just had to hang in there and keep pushing until the end. So, I changed my mindset and played accordingly. Overall, I think today went well,” said Song, a regular on the Japan Golf Tour who is searching for his first win in the country.
“I do want to win, and if my shots come out well, I think I can be in a good position. I want to focus on my own game. I hope I can showcase my full potential and have a good round.”
