Konishi ties Imahira for third round lead

Takanori Konishi surged into contention for his JGTO breakthrough by firing a five-under-par 65 in the third round of the Maezawa Cup on Saturday.
 
Konishi’s three-day total of 14-under-par means he will start the final round of the inaugural event in a share of the lead with Shugo Imahira, who posted a 67.
 
Konishi got off to a slow start with an opening 67.  The 33-year-old, however, made his move with a 64 in the second round before a 65 propelled him to the summit.
 
“My putting was really solid today, and that made a huge difference. Up until yesterday, the putts just weren’t dropping the way I wanted, but today, including an eagle, I was able to sink some longer putts and keep a good rhythm throughout my round,” said Konishi.
 
Konishi and Imahira will take a one-shot lead over the quartet of Tomoyo Ikemura (65), Michael Hendry (69), Ryuichi Oiwa (67), and Ren Yonezawa (70), who share third place on matching 197 total.
 
Starting the final round in the lead will be a new experience for Konishi. But he is looking forward to relishing the challenge and hopefully getting the job done on Sunday.
 
“It’s my first time leading going into the final day, so there’s definitely a bit of a different kind of nervousness. But I’ve had a few chances like this before, so I just want to stay relaxed, play my game, and not put too much pressure on myself,” said Konishi.
 
After mixing his card with two bogeys, two birdies and one eagle, Imahira is aiming to come out with all guns blazing on the final day as he chases his 11^th win on the JGTO.
 
“Tomorrow, I want to play aggressively. The leaderboard is really tight, so I want to approach it with the mindset of chasing from behind and just focus on playing my own game,” said the 32-year-old.
 
Leading third round scores
*All Japanese unless indicated otherwise
196 – Takanori Konishi 67-64-65, Shugo Imahira 66-63-67
197 – Tomoyo Ikemura 68-64-65, Ryuichi Oiwa 61-69-67, Michael Hendry (NZL) 63-65-69, Ren Yonezawa 62-65-70
198 – Suguru Shimoke, 66-67-65, Naoyuki Kataoka 67-66-65, Tatsunori Shogenji 68-65-65, Guntaek Koh (KOR) 66-67-65, Takashi Ogiso 66-64-68, Mikumu Horikawa 66-64-68