Nico Echavarria produced 5-under 65 on Saturday and will enter the final round of the ZOZO Championship with a two-shot lead over Justin Thomas.
Echavarria entered his third day at Narashino Country Club with a two-shot lead and after an eagle on 18, he left with the same advantage. The Columbian mixed five birdies with two bogeys prior to the final-hole gain.
“It was very special,” said Echavarria of the eagle on 18. “It was very hard to see out there at the end. It was dark, it was gloomy, so I couldn’t tell how close it was.
“I heard the roar, but when I got there and it was almost tap-in, it was very good.
Thomas (65) signed for a second straight bogey-free round which included five birdies, highlighted by two sets of back-to-backs, to secure solo second on 15 under.
“Yeah, I played solid,” said Thomas. “It’s always a good thing going bogey free, be nice to obviously get another one of those tomorrow.
“Yeah, I would have obviously loved a couple more there coming in, but I played really, really solid, played really well. You know, I just kind of feel like I did what I needed to do and got it around the course well. It’s nice to post a good score with it.”
Max Greyserman, who will be paired with Echavarria and Thomas in Sunday’s final group, was one further back after a third-day 64.
“Yeah, it was a good round from the start, pretty straightforward,” said Greyserman. “Was able to hit a lot of greens. Got off to on OK start and just waited for the putts to drop and then they started dropping.
“Been putting well all week. Feel like I’m a pretty good putter, so just got to stay patient and when the putts fall, they fall, add ’em up at the end.”
Rickie Fowler (67) headlined a group tied for fourth at 11 under, which also included Kevin Yu (66) and Nate Lashley (63).
2024 ZOZO Championship
Top-10 Leaderboard: Round 3
Pos-Player-Score (Rd 3)
1. Nico Echavarria -17 (-5)
2. Justin Thomas -15 (-5)
3. Max Greyserman -14 (-6)
4. Nate Lashley -11 (-7)
4. Kevin Yu -11 (-4)
4. Rickie Fowler -11 (-3)
7. Kurt Kitayama -10 (-7)
8. Andrew Novak -9 (-2)
8. Jhonattan Vegas -9 (-2)
8. C.T. Pan -9 (E)
8. Eric Cole -9 (E)
PGA Tour media press release and post-round notes used to compile recap.