Riki Kawamoto returned to the top of the leaderboard on his own after signing for a four-under-par 68 in the third round of the Richard Mille Charity Tournament on Saturday.
Related: Furukawa ties Kawamoto for secound round lead
Kawamoto started the round tied for the second round lead with Ryunosuke Furukawa, but will now enter the final round as the solo leader, holding a one-shot lead with his three-day total of 19-under-par 197.
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Furukawa signed for a 69 to take second place while Taiga Semikawa made his move with a 63 to share third place with Taiko Nishiyama (67) and Tomoyo Ikemura (69) at Noto Country Club.
Kawamoto has posted two top 10s in his last 10 starts on the JGTO and will be seeking to end his three-year title drought with his second and last JGTO win coming at the Vantelin Tokai Classic in 2022.
The 25-year-old stormed off the blocks with three birdies in his opening four holes. He dropped his only shot of the round on the ninth hole, but picked up two more shots on holes 13 and 18.
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“I had a good spot for the putt — it was very straight. I hit it right down the middle, and it dropped. I think it was a birdie that’ll carry good momentum into tomorrow,” said Kawamoto.
When asked what he would do to try to secure a wire-to-wire victory on Sunday, Kawamoto said: “ Everyone in the hunt is playing well. They have been hitting solid shots and making putts. I’ve been doing likewise, otherwise, I wouldn’t be in this position too. But to pull ahead, it’ll really take something special, like maybe draining one or two long putts. The player who pulls off that one great shot will probably win.”
