China's Liang Wenchong surged to a one-stroke lead after the third round of the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup on Saturday as he chased an elusive Japan Tour victory.
Overnight leader Adam Bland of Australia hit a three-over-par 74 to slip to two-under-par for the tournament - three shots behind the lead.
Liang, China's highest-ranked golfer, who has three Asian Tour and one European Tour title to his name, beat strong winds to sink four birdies, against two bogeys, on the 7,117-yard Ohtone Country Club course in Ibaraki, northeast of Tokyo.
The 36-year-old stood with a three-round total of five-under-par 208, one shot clear of Japan's Kazuhiro Yamashita.
Three other Japanese, Yoshinobu Tsukada,Yoshitaka Takeya and Yusaku Miyazato, trailed one stroke further back at 210.
With Bland at two-under are seven other players including fellow Australian Scott Strange, Juvic Pagunsan of the Philippines, Thailand's Namchoak Tantipokakul and South Korea's Kim Hyung-Sung and SK Ho.
Another Australian, Cameron Smith, who led after the opening round, carded a third-round 72 to be at one-under.
"The winds were very strong today and they can really affect your accuracy especially on this golf course," Liang said.
"I told myself to stay calm and try to avoid the rough as far as possible. They are really thick and you'll be in trouble if the ball lands there."
"Hopefully, I can have my breakthrough in Japan tomorrow," he said. "However, it's still very important to continue to stay focused as you never know what can happen until the last putt."
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