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Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry chasing Keita Nakajima in final round of India Championship

NEW DEHLI — Keita Nakajima shot a bogey-free, 7-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead at DP World India Championship after the third round Saturday, moving in sight of his second title on the European tour.

The 25-year-old Nakajima, a former top-ranked amateur, has two European Ryder Cup stars as his nearest challengers with Tommy Fleetwood (69) in second place and Shane Lowry (69) a stroke back in third.

No. 2-ranked Rory McIlroy, the main attraction at Delhi Golf Club, shot 68 and was in a tie for 15th place — seven strokes off the lead heading into the final round.

“I’m probably two shots too far behind to have a realistic chance,†McIlroy said.

Nakajima birdied four of his first eight holes, and then three in a row from No. 12 over a combined 70 feet to jump clear of then-leader Fleetwood. He parred his way home to retain the lead in his bid for a first title on the tour since March 2024, which also came in India at the Hero Indian Open.

Nakajima said the secret to his good third round was being able to watch his playing partner, Lowry.

“I love his swing tempo,†Nakajima said, “and I copied him. So that’s why my swing (was) better than yesterday. And mindset was great.â€

Fleetwood held the overnight lead, birdied two of his first three holes and also the par-5 No. 8. His only bogey came at the 17th after three-putting from 30 feet, but he made amends with a birdie at the last to make it into the final group.

“Keita is not far enough ahead where he’s completely in control,†said Fleetwood, who won the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour in August and was the top points scorer for Europe in its Ryder Cup victory last month.

“Just go into tomorrow, enjoy it. Final group is always great. You’ve got to enjoy those moments. You don’t know when they’re going to come again.â€

Minjee Lee, Jeeno Thitikul among the group chasing Arpichaya Yubol in China

SHANGHAI — Arpichaya Yubol shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the LPGA’s Shanghai tournament.

The Thai player, whose career-best round is a 61, had four birdies on each of the front and back nines on the Qizhong Garden Golf Club.

Minjee Lee, who won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June for her third major title, was in a group of five, a stroke behind. Jenny Shin, Jenny Bae, Jeeno Thitikul and Ina Yoon also shot 65s.

Lee said she navigated the difficult bumpy greens at Qizhong the best she could with her broomstick-style putter. Most of the greens are brown and patchy due to the extreme heat and humidity of Shanghai.

“I feel like with how the greens are, the conditions, I managed pretty well to make, what, seven birdies, so it was nice day for me,†the Australian said.

Ashleigh Buhai, the 2022 AIG Women’s Open champion, shot 68. Defending champion Ruoning Yin had a 71.

The Shanghai event is the first of five tournaments in Asia. There’s two weeks in South Korea, including the International Crown team event, and other tournaments in Malaysia and Japan.

Last week, Youmin Hwang extended the incredible streak on the LPGA of having different winners at each of the 25 official tournaments this year. Hwang was the sixth player from South Korea to win on the LPGA this year.