Jyoti Randhawa shot his third straight round of 70 to slip two positions to 17th place after the penultimate round in the Golf Nippon Series JP Cup event being played at the par-70, Toyko Yomiuri CC, Japan.
The tournament is restricted to winners on the Japanese PGA Tour's 2003 season and the top-25 golfers on the current season's Order of Merit.
Tetsuji Hiratsuka fired an impressive round of seven-under 63 to take a three-stroke lead at 13-under 197. Toshimitzu Izawa was placed second at ten-under 200, while overnight
leader Taichi Tejima was third at 201.
Randhawa has played well all week, but as is the case at times in the strange game of golf, he struggled to break par.
Percentage golf pays only to an extent at this level of the sport and one can be sure Randhawa will attack the pin in his final attempt for a top-ten finish tomorrow.
Today, Randhawa had an early hiccup when he dropped a shot on the fourth. However, an eagle on the sixth got him out of the red. His second bogey on the eighth saw him make the turn at level-par. After making the turn, the Suntory Open winner birdied the 16th but an unfortunate bogey on his closing hole of the day prevented him from breaking-par.
"It's strange. Sometimes the simplest things in golf take a superhuman effort to achieve," said the 31-year-old Indian.
"Tomorrow, I'll attack the pin and go for a top-ten finish," he concluded.
Hiratsuka played exemplary golf for his 63. The local pro had two eagles one each on the sixth and 16th and birdies on the fourth, fifth, ninth and 17th. His only bogey of the day came on the 12th.
Scores (after 54 holes): 197_Tetsuji Hiratsuka(66,68,63); 200_Toshimitzu Izawa(67,65,68); 201_Taichi Tejima(66,65,70); 202_Hiroyuki Fujita(69,67,66); 203_David Smail(66,66,71); 204_Kiyoshi Murota(66,69,69); 205_Keiichiro
Fukabori(69,69,67), Soushi Tajima(68,68,69); 206_Hideto Tanihara(67,69,70).