Justin Thomas of the United States watches his shot on the third hole during the third round of the CJ Cup golf tournament at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017. (Ko Bum Joon/Newsis via AP)
Justin Thomas of the United States watches his shot on the third hole during the third round of the CJ Cup golf tournament at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017. (Ko Bum Joon/Newsis via AP) Credit: Ko Bum Joon

Jeju, South Korea — Justin Thomas fired a 2-under 70 in windy conditions to share the lead with fellow American Scott Brown after the third round of the CJ Cup on Saturday.

Thomas offset a lone double bogey and a bogey with five birdies to reach the clubhouse at 9-under 207.

“I know for a fact I played better today than I did on Thursday when I shot a 9 under,” Thomas said. “It’s just so hard out there. I’ve never played in a place where the wind swirls as much as it does here.”

Brown had back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11 but recovered with two birdies on the back nine for a 71.

India’s Anirban Lahiri moved into a share of third place with Australian Marc Leishman (71) after a 69 that included four birdies and a bogey.

Whee Kim (70) was the highest placed of the 16 South Korean players in the field, tied for fifth after a 72.

Ji Gains Big Lead in Taiwan

Taipei, Taiwan — Eun-Hee Ji carded a 3-under 69 to open up a six-stroke lead after the third round of the Taiwan Championship.

Ji, who shared the overnight lead with Jenny Shin, recovered from a bogey on the par-4 5th with four birdies for a total of 10-under 206. The South Korean veteran is looking for her first win since the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open.

Langer Leads in Virginia

Richmond, Va. — Bernhard Langer matched the course record with a 9-under 63 to take a three-stroke lead in the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, the first event in the PGA Tour Champions’ Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs.

Seeking an unprecedented fifth Schwab Cup and fourth in a row, the 60-year-old Langer leads the season standings and has a tour-high five victories this season.

Langer had nine birdies in his second straight bogey-free round to reach 14-under 130 on The Country Club of Virginia’s James River Course.

Vijay Singh was second after a 63 of his own.

Joe Durant (67) was 10 under, and Michael Allen (64) and Scott Verplank (66) were 9 under.

The event is the first of three in the playoffs. The playoff field will be cut to 54 for the PowerShares QQQ Championship next week in Thousand Oaks, California, and the top 36 will advance to the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix.