Casey Jarvis will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the DP World Tour’s ISPS HANDA-Championship after an adventurous bogey-free 64 on day three on Saturday at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba Course.
The South African was three shots back after completing his second round early in the morning but was in a share of the lead at the turn after making four birdies on the front nine.
He rode his luck at times on the way home but two further gains moved him to 13-under and gave him a slim advantage over Germany’s Yannik Paul, who signed for a 68.
Local duo Ryosuke Kinoshita and Keita Nakajima, China’s Li Haotong, Swede Sebastian Söderberg and Frenchman Tom Vaillant were then at 11-under, with 16 players within three shots of the lead.
European Challenge Tour graduate Jarvis is enjoying a consistent debut season on the DP World Tour, sitting inside the top 50 on the Race to Dubai rankings having made 11 of 13 cuts coming into this week with a top 10 at the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
He won the Euram Bank Open last season on the Challenge Tour but the 20-year-old now holds the 54-hole lead at a DP World Tour event for the first time, with plenty at stake in the penultimate event of the Asian Swing.
The player who finishes top of the Rankings will win $200,000 and gain entry to the Back Nine events and the leading DP World Tour member (not otherwise exempt) will also qualify for the Genesis Scottish Open. Those who finish in positions one to three will also be exempt into the US PGA Championship.
“It would mean the world to win,” he said. “I’ve worked pretty hard for this so I’ll just go out tomorrow and stay patient and play every hole as it comes.”
He added: “It played pretty tricky, I don’t find it very easy to get near these flags so I kind of played smart and just managed my game well around the course.
“I’ve been putting well this week so I made a few good par putts. My goal at the start of the day was to go bogey-free, I did it yesterday and again today which doesn’t happen very often with me. I’m pleased about that.”
