Nagano fends off fast-charging Norris to stay on top

Ryutaro Nagano continued to keep his position atop the leaderboard after signing for a five-under-par 67 in the penultimate round of the ANA Open Golf Tournament on Saturday.
 
The 36-year-old has yet to win on the JGTO but remains on course for his breakthrough as his three-day total of 17-under-par 199 ensured he has a two-shot advantage over South Africa’s Shaun Norris and the rest of the chasing pack at the Sapporo Golf Club Wattsu Course in Hokkaido, come Sunday.
 
“One more round to go, and I'm very excited about it. I've been playing well for the last three days and hopefully, I can continue doing so and do something special tomorrow,” said Nagano.
 
Norris stunned the rest of the field with a stunning 62 to surge 32 places up to outright second after the third round as Kota Kaneko (66) and Aguri Iwasaki (69) are tied for third on 202.
 
Teeing off on the back-nine 10, Norris picked up his first birdie early on the opening hole. He made three straight pars before four birdies on holes 14, 15, 17 and 18 saw him turn in 31.
 
Despite the gusty conditions, the South African, a six-time JGTO winner, continued to impress in his inward-nine with another flawless stretch where he birdied the third, seventh and ninth holes and an eagle on five.
 
“The wind started picking up in the back nine. My brother, who is my caddie, and I always say we wish it would be windy for all four days. So, the wind didn’t bother me. In fact, I prefer it when it’s windy because it helps me concentrate more on my play,” said the 42-year-old. 
 
When asked about his plans for the final round, Norris said: “I agree I’m in a good position and I’m glad I’ve been able to get myself there. I’ll be able to play from a good position tomorrow, and I’m going to give it my all.”
 
Leading third round scores
All Japanese unless indicated otherwise
199 -  Ryutaro Nagano 64-68-67
201 – Shaun Norris (RSA) 70-69-62
202 – Kota Kaneko 67-69-66, Aguri Iwasaki 66-67-69
203 - Takashi Ogiso 63-71-69, Shugo Imahira 69-66-68, Ryuichi Oiwa 67-66-70
 
Selected internationals
209 – Yu Sung-po (TPE) 68-71-70
210 – Brad Kennedy (AUS) 69-71-70
 
Ends.