Nitithorn Thippong. Asian Tour

Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong made a big step towards the 2023 Indonesia Open title on Saturday, carding a five-under 67 to secure a five-shot lead going into the final round.

Nitithorn started the day in second place after rediscovering his form with a bogey-free round of 65 on Friday. He dropped two shots during the third round, but seven birdies were enough to consolidate his lead over Chang Wei-lun of Chinese Taipei who holds solo second in the $500,000 Asian Tour event.

“I played really well today and just kept hitting the ball on the fairway and just tried to hit the greens,” he said after his round at Pondok Indah Golf Club in Jakarta, the 11th event in the 2023 Asian Tour season.

“I think I made 16 greens today, just missed only two, but my putting I just struggled a little bit, like on the short putts,” he explained. “I don’t know why but I felt a little bit of pressure when I putted, so yeah, just the stroke wasn’t so good on the short putts.

“It didn’t feel easy, I was just really focused until hole number 13 or 14 and I still didn’t know how many I was under until I asked my caddie. Golf is really hard, but I played really well, so I hope I will play this good again tomorrow.”

In third place, a strong group threatened to make inroads on the lead, including Lee Chieh-po of Chinese Taipei and England’s Steve Lewton.