Hoshino and Kanaya ready to pounce in Sunday showdown 

Rikuya Hoshino and Takumi Kanaya remained firmly in contention for a grandstand finish after carding 66 and 67 respectively to trail Canadian leader Aaron Cockerill by two shots following the third round of the inaugural ISPS HANDA Championship on Saturday.

Hoshino notched five birdies before dropping a bogey on the last hole at the PGM Ishioka Golf Club to climb three rungs to tied-fourth on 11-under-par 199 and was joined by Kanaya, who traded four birdies against a lone bogey.

Hoshino and Kanaya, who are six and three-time winners on JGTO respectively, will certainly be extra motivated to make a big push on Sunday knowing that a victory will earn them a two-year exemption on DP World Tour.

Hoshino, competing on the global circuit this year with a conditional status earned by being the top three finishers of last year's JGTO Money Rankings, recorded one top-10 through a tied-sixth finish at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship.

Despite suffering a late bogey that marred his otherwise perfect card, Hoshino remains optimistic about staging his own comeback on the day that matters most.

"Today was my best ball-striking performance in three days, so I was aiming to shoot six-under-par or better. Unfortunately, I missed a birdie putt on the 17th, and it was a wasteful bogey at the last," said Hoshino, who extended his sub-70 par record to 17 rounds.

"Still, I managed to stay at the top on the final day. I want to do my best to pull off something special tomorrow.

"It would be great if we could catch up with the leaders in the first half of the day. 

"My goal is to win my maiden European circuit title, and it would be special if I can do it tomorrow because I get to win on home soil and earn a ticket to Europe."

Kanaya, meanwhile, also has a glorious chance at claiming his second title this season following his triumph at the Asian Tour's International Series Oman in February.

Kanaya had played three times on DP World Tour this season, finishing tied-seventh at the Australian PGA Championship for his best result in November last year.

"I think I have a good chance of winning the championship, so I want to stick to my own game plan and do my very best," said Kanaya.

"If I can win again, it would be a very great achievement because it's not easy to win on two different tours."

Cockerill will be hoping to preserve his one-shot lead over Scotland's David Law and Australia's Lucas Herbert after a sublime 64 took him one step closer to his maiden professional victory.

“I hit it close the first couple of holes. Made a 10-footer, hit it close for eagle on five and missed it. It has been an awesome start and I played steady the rest of the way,” said the Canadian.

Leading third round scores:

197: Aaron Cockerill (Can) 64-69-64;

198: David Law (Sco) 66-68-64, Lucas Herbert (Aus) 67-63-68;

199: Rikuya Hoshino (Jpn) 66-67-66, Takumi Kanaya (Jpn) 66-67-66, Grant Forrest (Sco) 68-62-69;

200: Rafa Cabrera Bello (Esp) 67-66-67, Jazz Janewattanond (Tha) 67-63-70;

201: Guido Migliozzi (Ita) 69-68-64, Calum Hill (Sco) 67-67-67, Jordan Smith (Eng) 66-66-69, Maximilian Kieffer (Ger) 66-65-70.

Ends.