Kanaya hits the peak

Despite bogeying three of his last four holes, Takumi Kanaya carved out a one-shot lead after the third round of the Fujisankei Classic on Saturday, moving closer to his second JGTO victory of the season.

The 25-year-old Kanaya carded a one-under-par 69 at Fujizakura Country Club in Yamanashi Prefecture, having begun the day tied for the lead alongside Keita Nakajima, Naoyuki Kataoka, and Taichi Nabetani.

With a three-day aggregate of five-under-205, he finished a shot ahead of Kataoka, who crucially birdied the final hole to card a 70. Nabetani managed a 71 and is now in a three-way tie for third place alongside two-time winner Ryo Ishikawa (69) and Yusaku Hosono (67), both at 207.

Kanaya, the BMW Japan Golf Tour Championship Mori Building Cup winner in June, began the day quietly, only to string together three consecutive birdies starting from the seventh hole to seize control.

A two-putt bogey on the 15th hole became his first misstep of the day. However, he swiftly reclaimed the shot, hitting his tee shot to a mere two meters from the pin on the par-three 16th.

Uncharacteristically, he dropped two more shots over the concluding two holes, but, to his relief, he held onto his lead.

Kanaya remains upbeat despite the late setback. "I made some mistakes on the 17th and 18th, which is disappointing, with my last shot unfortunately landing in the rough. However, I managed to hit the fairway well on the other holes and I feel that I played solidly overall. With this confidence, I hope to secure a win tomorrow," said Kanaya, who's currently second on the JGTO money list.

Kataoka is looking forward to the final day showdown with Kanaya, hoping to clinch his second JGTO title after his inaugural victory at the Japan Players Championship in 2021.

"It's a promising position to start the final day in, but with Kanaya as my competition, it's going to be tough. I expect he'll play exceptionally well, so I have to be at my best to exert some pressure," said Kataoka, who balanced four birdies with an equal number of bogeys.

"That being said, several players are making moves from below, so we might see new contenders emerge tomorrow, making it a tight contest."

The South Korean pair — Park Sang-hyun, the 2019 winner, and last week's Sansan KBC Augusta champion Song Young-han — are the leading international players on the leaderboard, tied for 13th at even-par 210.

Song carded a 68, while Park finished with a 71, putting them five shots adrift of Kanaya as they head into the final round.

Leading third round scores:

205: Takumi Kanaya 68-68-69;

206: Naoyuki Kataoka 67-69-70;

207: Yusaku Hosono 72-68-67, Ryo Ishikawa 68-70-69, Taichi Nabetani 68-68-71;

208: Ryutaro Nagano 71-71-66, Hirotaro Naito 68-70-70;

209:  Ryo Katsumata 72-71-66, Kosuke Suzuki 71-70-68, Rintaro Nakano (am) 67-73-69, Shugo Imahira 68-70-71, Keita Nakajima 67-69-73.