Matsuyama Has 1-Stroke, 3rd-Round Lead at Zozo Championship

CHIBA, Japan—Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama held connected to a one-stroke pb astatine the PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship connected Saturday aft a 2-under 68 which included a bogey connected his past spread to marque things absorbing heading into the last round.

Matsuyama trailed by a changeable aft the archetypal round, led by 1 aft the second, and had a 54-hole full of 10-under 200 connected the par-70, 7,041-yard Narashino Country Club course.

Cameron Tringale, who besides changeable 68, trailed by 3 strokes going to the last spread Saturday but his birdie and Matsuyama’s bogey reduced the pb to conscionable one.

Sebastian Munoz (68), Brendan Steele (70), and Matt Wallace (70) were tied for third, 4 strokes down Matsuyama.

British Open champion Collin Morikawa, who changeable 67 with a chip-in eagle connected 18 and was six strokes behind, said helium added a caller changeable to his repertoire connected the par-5 sixth hole. But it’s not 1 that helium wants to repeat.

Spectators ticker a tee changeable connected the archetypal fractional during the 3rd circular of the Zozo Championship play tourney astatine Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club successful Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, Japan connected Oct. 23, 2021. (Tomohiro Ohsumi/AP Photo)

“I did thing successful my vocation that I haven’t done yet, was shank a shot,” Morikawa said. “Yeah, shanked a pitching wedge consecutive successful the trees.”

“It was benignant of a grind. I truly had nary hint wherever the shot was going to go, I was benignant of conscionable trying to marque interaction and thankfully the putter was moving today. Obviously truly bully to decorativeness connected a mates fortunate breaks with the tee changeable near ending up successful the fairway, hitting a atrocious 2nd changeable and past chipping successful evidently to extremity the day.”

Morikawa said it could beryllium an absorbing last round.

“We ne'er know. Obviously, I’m going to person to spell marque birdies tomorrow, Hideki’s evidently not going to marque a clump of bogeys, but we’ll spot wherever the time ends,” Morikawa said. “We ever consciousness similar we’re ever wrong striking region and conscionable got to get disconnected to a bully start.”

Tokyo Olympic golden medal victor Xander Schauffele changeable 68 and was astatine 2 over, 12 strokes behind, arsenic was Rickie Fowler aft a 71 Saturday.

The PGA Tour’s lone halt connected the Asia plaything has attracted lone 3 of the apical 20 successful the satellite rankings.