Kota Kaneko birdied the final hole to take the outright lead after the third round of the Austrian Alpine Open, continuing his remarkable consistency with a third straight 65. The Japanese golfer carded six birdies and one bogey for the third consecutive day to reach 15 under par, one shot clear of Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia. Chasing his maiden DP World Tour title after finishing runner-up at last week’s Soudal Open, Kaneko credited his strong putting and driving for his success.
Gouveia posted the round of the day, a bogey-free 63 featuring seven birdies, including four in his opening four holes, to briefly lead at 14 under. China’s Yanhan Zhou sits third on 13 under, while Joost Luiten is fourth at 12 under. Former leader Andrew Johnston slipped back into a tie for fifth at 11 under alongside Bernd Wiesberger, Calum Hill, Richard Sterne, Joe Dean and Davis Bryant, setting up an exciting final round in Austria.