Singapore: Japan's Yoshinori Fujimoto had a closing birdie to thank for giving him the outright lead after he signed for a third-round five-under-par 66 at the Singapore Open yesterday.
The Japanese's three-day total of 13-under-par 200 gave him a slender one-shot advantage over Thailand's Jazz Janewattananond and England's Matthew Fitzpatrick who posted rounds of 65 and 66 respectively at the season-opening event of the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO).
Thailand's Chapchai Nirat (66) shared fourth place with South Korea's Mun Do-Yeob (67) and tournament headliner Paul Casey of England (68) on matching 203 total.
Fujimoto showed no signs of fatigue despite having to return early to the Serapong Course at Sentosa Golf Club to complete his remaining 11 holes from his second round.
After snatching the second round lead with a 67, the Japanese held onto the pole position by marking his card with four birdies, one eagle and a bogey.
Jazz continued to underline his growing credentials with a scintillating 65 which could possibly see him return to the British Open in July as the Singapore Open is part of the British Open qualifying series for the third consecutive year.
The 23-year-old finished tied-fourth at the Singapore Open to qualify for the British Open last year and rekindled his affinity for the Serapong course with a flawless round that was highlighted by six birdies.
Thailand's Chapchai Nirat delighted the local crowd who began to take notice of the four-time Asian Tour winner when he went on a birdie blitz with five birdies in six holes after the turn to surge himself towards the top of the leaderboard at the US$1 million event.
"Form the first round, my shots have been mostly straight and that is the key factor of my good score," Fujimoto said.
Jazz said: "I am in a good position. I really hope to get one of the four spots to the [British] Open. That's my goal right now. You need to be patient on this course.
"Everyone wants to win. I want to win as well but there are really a lot of good players out here. If I keep telling myself to win this, I will put a lot of pressure on myself. I just want to play my game and keep hitting good shots and try to get one of the four spots for the Open."
Chapchai said: "I tried not to be too aggressive today, I just played safe. I was one-under on my front nine and the turning point came on the 10th where I made a really long putt for birdie. I managed to pick up some momentum from there and went on to make three more consecutive putts.
"I just want to have fun and not expect too much. I have a good caddy this week. He helped me a lot and we were just having fun out there. He helped me to stay relaxed. I'm happy to be in a good position but I don't want to think too much about tomorrow. I just want to enjoy myself."
