Sato Turns Up the Heat on Pace-Setting Hong Kong, China

Beijing, China: Japan’s Kaito Sato fired a third round four-under-par 68 to pile the pressure on pace-setting Hong Kong, China and set up what promises to be a thrilling finale at the 31st Nomura Cup.

Six shots adrift of the half-way leaders at the start of the day, Japan, on the back of Sato’s performance, narrowed the gap to just two strokes heading into Friday’s final round in the biennial Asia-Pacific Men’s Amateur Golf Team Championship at Bayhood No. 9.

In the event in which the best two daily scores in each three-man team are counted, Mao Matsuyama posted his third successive 71 to give Japan a day three aggregate of five-under 139.

With a 54-hole total of nine-under 423, the Japanese team, that also includes last year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship runner-up Taisei Nagasaki, are hot on the heels of the Hong Kong, China trio of Markus Lam (71), Jeffrey Shen (72) and Ethan Tian (78).

Thanks to sub-par returns from Jet Hernandez (68) and Shinichi Suzuki (70), the Philippines climbed into third place on 426, one shot ahead of hosts China. Also in contention on 430 are Korea, for whom Son Je-yi made six birdies in a blistering back-nine 31 to sign for a 66, the best round of day three.

In the 21-nation event they are followed in joint sixth place by Thailand and New Zealand (both 433), defending champions Vietnam (434), Australia (439), Singapore (440), Malaysia (446), Chinese Taipei (448), Macao, China (449), United Arab Emirates (452), Pakistan (456), Indonesia (458), Myanmar (475), Guam (478), Saudi Arabia (497), Cambodia (502) and Mongolia (513).

In the individual standings, Sato and Lam share top spot on four-under 212 with Son, Matsuyama and China’s Cui Jingguo one shot back in joint third. The individual winner will be presented with the Taimur Hassan Amin Trophy, donated by immediate Past President of the APGC Taimur Hassan Amin.

Playing in the penultimate flight alongside Lam and Cui, Sato, last year's Japan Amateur champion, raced to three-under through five holes but stumbled with bogeys at six and seven. Recovering his composure, he made birdies at 11, 12 and 13 and parred his way home.

“My second shots were good, giving me many birdie chances. My gameplan for tomorrow is the same – hit the centre of the greens with my approach shots,” said Sato, 588th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

Lam, who along with Matsuyama is the only player to have broken par on all three days, also showed his mettle, bouncing back from an outward one-over 37 with a two-under 34 on the back nine.

He said: “I didn’t make it easy on myself by hitting some wayward shots, but I’m glad I held it together and I’m excited for tomorrow’s round. We’ve still got to believe and stick to our gameplan. I would say momentum is not on our side, so we’ve got to find some way to get that momentum back.”

Like host nation China and Hong Kong, China, the Philippines is seeking its first victory in the championship that was inaugurated in 1963.

Hernandez, an incoming senior at the University of Denver, kept his country’s hopes alive with six birdies in his day three 68. “I did a good job today of not over-thinking and I’ll try and do the same thing tomorrow – just stay in the present. We’ll give it our all to try and win this Cup,” he said.

FULL THIRD-ROUND TEAM SCORES

421 – Hong Kong, China (140-138-143)
423 – Japan (142-142-139)
426 – Philippines (142-146-138)
427 – China (145-143-139)
430 – Korea (148-146-136)
433 – New Zealand (147-145-141); Thailand (146-143-144)
434 – Vietnam (145-143-146)
439 – Australia (150-150-139)
440 – Singapore (155-146-139)
446 – Malaysia (149-148-149)
448 – Chinese Taipei (159-144-145)
449 – Macao, China (151-146-152)
452 – United Arab Emirates (149-151-152)
456 – Pakistan (152-153-151)
458 – Indonesia (154-155-149)
475 – Myanmar (162-156-157)
478 – Guam (161-166-151)
497 – Saudi Arabia (174-165-158)
502 – Cambodia (166-171-165)
513 – Mongolia (176-169-168)

LEADING THIRD-ROUND INDIVIDUAL SCORES

212 – Kaito Sato (Japan) 73-71-68; Markus Lam (Hong Kong, China) 70-71-71
213 – Son Je-yi (Korea) 74-73-66; Cui Jingguo (China) 72-72-69; Mao Matsuyama (Japan) 71-71-71
215 – Jet Hernandez (Philippines) 73-74-68
216 – Zachary May (New Zealand) 73-73-70; Ho Anh Huy (Vietnam) 73-71-72
217 – Shinichi Suzuki (Philippines) 75-72-70; Taisei Nagasaki (Japan) 71-74-72
218 – Yuki Miya (New Zealand) 74-73-71; Chun Ji-yul (Korea) 74-73-71; Warut Boonrod (Thailand) 74-71-73; Nguyen Tuan Anh (Vietnam) 72-72-74; Ethan Tian (Hong Kong, China) 73-67-78

*For full scores and live scoring, please click here.