Rintaro Nakano leads by 2 with a marathon finish awaiting at the rain-delayed Asia-Pacific Amateur

SHIZUOKA, Japan (AP) — Rintaro Nakano of Japan finished off a 3-under 67 on Saturday morning and finished the weather-delayed Asia-Pacific Amateur with a one-shot lead when the third round was suspended by darkness.

That sets up another long day on Sunday for the contenders at the Taiheiyo Club Gotemba.

Nakano managed one birdie in the four holes he played in the third round and was at 8-under par, two shots ahead of Wenyi Ding of China and Rizq Adam Rohizam of Malaysia. Ding, a former U.S. Junior Amateur champion, is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 5 in the world amateur ranking.

Nakano, Ding and Randy Bintang of Indonesia face 32 holes on Sunday. Nakano has a 4-foot par putt on the fifth hole when play resumes Sunday.

The winner gets an invitation to the Masters and an exemption to the British Open at Royal Portrush next year.

The tournament was thrown behind by 4 inches of overnight rain and heavy fog that led to a 6 1/2-hour delay to start the second round, and players have been trying to catch up ever since.

The 36-hole cut Saturday fell at 7-over 147 for 63 players.

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The Associated Press