Matthew Griffin jumps up to Top tied with magnificent 8 under par charge. He started off with 1 birdie on his front nine but after the turn he made charge with double 3 straight birdies (10 to 12 and 14 to 16) added 1 more on 18 and scored 28 in his back nine which to total 6 under for the tournament and tied with Daijiro Izumida at the top on the leaderboard. Here is an interview after his great round at Wago.

Q. Nice round today. Please go through it for us.
A. The back nine was amazing. Just hit the ball well and holed every putt. It's nice to get some reward.

Q. Just 1 birdie on front nine. Was it result of your patience that lead to multiple birdies in the back nine?
A. Yes, I stayed patient. I think around this course you have to be in the fairways to give yourself a chance. I was in the rough, not as far in the rough but rough in front nine, but in second nine I was able to hit it into the fairways and give myself better birdie chances.

Q. Your 28 is the record for the new back nine.
A. Oh really? That's exciting. A round at the course which had so many great champions, it an honor to have a course record. It's a tough nine holes, but it worked well for me today.

Q. How is the condition on the green? Players say it is little quick, but how did you adjust to it?
A. I think greens are amazing. They are perfect for a golf tournament. Yesterday with the rain and some earlier in the week so it's soft but today it was nice and firm. I think in the weekend with nice weather, it should get even firm and it should make a good test.

Q. Brendan had an emotional win at the Token, did that fire you up in anyways?
A. My Token finish has given me many confidences. I know that if I play my best golf I can be there on Sunday with the chance. Definitely, finishing 2nd is good, but finishing 1st is much nicer so, I will be doing my best and try to win on Sunday.

Q. Have you been dining with Brendan?
A. Yes. Actually, we had dinner last night at famous steak restaurant on Nagoya. On Sunday night we will have a winner's party with BJ. So, maybe we can make it 2 winners.

Q. You always carry some carrots in your caddy bag, do you have something else this week?
A. When I play golf tournament, I get very hungry, so I try to eat couple of bananas, carrots. If I don't eat, I lose concentration, so it's important to eat some food on every 2 to 3 holes.

• 

•