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Jeev Milkha Singh sank a 20-foot birdie on the closing hole to bring himself within one shot of the leaders at the 100 million Yen Sun Chlorella Classic at the Otaru Country and Golf Club on Friday.
The Indian ace, who is on a streak of five consecutive top-10 finishes, shot a two-under 70 for a 36-hole total of three-under and was lying in tied third place.
The 34-year-old Chandigarh golfer, who won the Volvo China Open in April and has since been in contention in most tournaments he has started in, is one behind joint leaders Masaya Tomida and Mitsuhiro Tateyama who shot 68 each to be placed four-under after even par first rounds.
Jeev started on the 10th and had birdies on the 11th and 17th but in between dropped a shot on the 16th.
On the front nine of the course, he birdied the second at which stage he was on top of the leaderboard. But an errant approach shot saw him drop a shot on the fifth.
On the 18th, despite not getting to the green in regulation, he sank a long putt from just over 20 feet to finish with a birdie and a 70 for the day.
Jeev had 28 putts for the round. He later said, "The conditions have been tough. It has been hot, which is not common here in Japan. But that birdie kept me in the hunt."
His two-day total of three-under 141 keeps him tied third with Thai star Prayad Marksaeng.
The first day saw eight leaders at two-under but with hot conditions and tough pin positions, scoring has been difficult. Four players are tied for fifth place at two-under.