In addition to looking forward to his first PGA TOUR victory, Justin Suh scored a 3-under 67 on Saturday to lead the third round of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. This is the first time he has led entering the final day of an event on the PGA TOUR.
Beau Hossler and Eric Cole, two more Americans vying for their first PGA TOUR titles, are only one shot behind. Here at the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, just outside of Tokyo, on a bright autumn day, Cole shot 66 while Hossler, the leader after the second round, recorded a 68.
The first-round leader, Collin Morikawa, is only two strokes back following a 66, which will put the three players under extreme pressure. After taking home the titles in the DP World Tour and the Open Championship later in 2021, Morikawa is hoping to overcome a “mini-slump.” In 2020, he also took home the PGA Championship.
Suh participated in the PGA TOUR’s development circuit, the Korn Ferry Tour, and he attributes his increasing maturity to his time there.
“I’ve found myself in this situation a few times this year in some significant competitions. You put yourself in this situation every week and you pick up a little bit of knowledge.” Suh said.
Suh was formerly a number one world amateur and the University of Southern California’s conference player of the year.
“The main thing, in my opinion, is simply getting the experience. Hopefully, you know, I just come here and try to find fairways and greens and just be conscious of all the shifting circumstances, like we’ve been doing.” Suh said.
In the second round, Morikawa shot a wind-blown 73, hitting just three fairways. On Saturday, he did not perform much better, hitting four. However, he rebounded with 8 birdies and a bogey over the final 14 holes, even though he lost 3 strokes over the opening 4 holes.
“It was simply an incapacity to hit fairways, not an incapacity to deal with the wind. And it’s still the case today. Look, the iron is still quite functional. It’s not the irons; rather, it’s whether or not I can manage to hit from the middle of the fairway.” Morikawa said.
He virtually said that the three players in front of him would face a serious threat on Sunday.
“It’s been a long time since I had a round like that. It just seems to indicate that my mind is in the proper place,” he added.
Hossler made a similar comment on hitting in the fairways, and a number of players brought up how the wind was anticipated to change direction on Sunday, leading to a sunny day. It was expected to rain during the night on Saturday.
“Getting the ball in the fairway is crucial here because, when playing out of this zoysia rough, you just never know what it’s going to do,” stated Hossler.
Morikawa’s origins are deep in Japan, therefore this would be a fantastic place to win. In this case, there are also a few Japanese players or players with Japanese ancestry.
After a 69, Japan’s Satoshi Kodaira sits 3 back at 6-under 204. Kurt Kitayama, an American, finished alone at 4 behind after his low round on Saturday of 64. And in a group of 3 that was 5 shots behind the lead, Ryo Ishikawa of Japan carded 69.
