Eric Sugimoto played bogey free round of 67 to jump up to 3T, 4 strokes behind the leader going into final Sunday.

Actually, his real name is Tatsuya is born in Chiba Prefecture, where this week's venue is at. His parents are Japanese, and so is his nationality. But he was raised in San Diego California from 1 year old. He changed his name to Eric while he studies at South California University. He turned professional after his graduation and joined Japan Tour in 2018.

"For past few weeks, I am homesick and want to go back to US. I do get depressed and going through tough times, but I must work professionally. So, try to brighten up my feelings by changing my pace."

His goals of the years is to achieve his 1st Tour victory and a ticket to ZOZO Championship. Top 3 finishes of this week's tournament will automatically receive the invitation. So, if he could win tomorrow, he would accomplish both of his goals

Xander Schauffele, the Tokyo Olympics Gold Medalist has already announced that he will make appearance at this year's ZOZO Championship, and he is a long-time friend of Eric's since they were 9 years old. They are good buddies and spends many hours on the course together.

"I was watching the Olympics at home in San Diego. I called him right away. I was so happy that he was really happy. If I could play on the ZOZO Championship, that will be more than great. I do play along with him many times, but that is just two buddies fooling around. I want to see how I could manage on the PGA Tour atmosphere."