Nakano extends lead before third round suspended at Asia-Pacific Amateur

GOTEMBA, Japan – Following the extensive weather delay on Friday, players returned first thing on Saturday morning to resume their second rounds at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.

Japan's home favorite Rintaro Nakano finished the second round with a one-stroke lead at seven-under, one shot clear of Randy Bintang and Wenyi Ding.

The 20-year-old quickly extended his lead to two with a birdie at the third hole before the round was suspended for the day at 5:05 p.m. due to darkness.

“It was great that I could be on top going to the third round today, but I could only finish five holes this afternoon so I think tomorrow will be a tough day," said Nakano, who has a four-foot par putt left on the fifth hole and is expected to play 31 holes tomorrow.

"My game is not bad, so I want to prepare for tomorrow’s round.”

Malaysia's Rizq Adam Rohizam was the first to make a move towards the lead with a birdie at the second hole, while Cooper Moore of New Zealand picked up a shot at the third hole. Rohizam and Ding sit two shots back of Nakano's mark of eight-under at six-under, while Bintang, Moore, China's Ziqin Zhou and the Republic of Korea's Seonghyeon An sit three shots back at five-under.

An picked up two shots in his first seven holes of the third round with birdies at the second and fifth.

The third round will be completed early Sunday morning before the final round gets underway later in the morning.

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