Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan: After an uncharacteristically slow start, Keita Nakajima is finding his range at the Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup Golf.
The number one player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) appeared somewhat out of sorts during an opening-round 73 which left him in a share of 44th spot.
Thanks to a one-under-par 71 on day two at Sagamihara Golf Club’s East Course, the 20-year-old moved up to joint 39th.
On ‘moving day’, Nakajima produced his best round of the week so far – a two-under 70 enabling him to rise 16 places into equal 23rd in the event that is co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO) and the Asian Tour and is one of the Japan Golf Association’s four National Championships
With a 54-hole total of 214, he’s eight strokes behind pace-setting Rikuya Hoshino, who holds a two-stroke lead.
Heading into the final round, Nakajima’s dream of becoming only the sixth amateur to win on the JGTO will not now come true this week. But there’s a very real prospect that he’ll walk off with leading amateur honours.
On a tough day for scoring, Nakajima had the best return of the seven Japanese amateurs who made the cut, although Ren Yonezawa continued his impressive recovery from a disappointing first-round 76 with a gutsy 71.
Seventh in the WAGR and winner of the low amateur accolade in 2019 when the event was last staged, Yonezawa is one shot behind Nakajima in equal 26th place.
For Taiga Sugihara, joint tournament leader after 36 holes, it was a tough day. He bogeyed the first two holes, turning in 40 and coming back in 37. It was 12 strokes worse than his scintillating second-day 65 and saw him fall into a tie for 19th on 213 – Nakajima and Yonezawa hot on his heels.
Like Sugihara, the remaining amateur quartet all struggled.
Yuta Sugiura is joint 39th on 217 following a 78, while Jigen Serizawa and Riki Kawamoto are among those locked together on 221 in equal 59th. Both had triple-bogey sevens on their card.
Serizawa’s meltdown came at the 16th and meant he signed for 77, while Kawamoto ran-up his triple on the first hole as he stumbled to a 43 on the front nine. He came back in 37 for an 80.
Sodai Furukawa is in a tie for 64th on 222 following a 77.
Supported by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, the Asia-Pacific Open Diamond Cup has been recognised by The R&A with an invitation extended to this week’s champion to compete in The Open in England in July.
