David Bransdon hit the top of the leaderboard early on day three of the ISPS HANDA Super 6 Perth as the race for the top 24 spots heated up at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
The top 24 at the end of 54 holes would advance to the six-hole match play knockout stage on Sunday, with the top eight finishers receiving a bye into the second round.
Bransdon moved to 13 under after three holes to give himself a five-shot cushion in the race for the top eight and a one-shot lead ahead of overnight leader and local favourite Brett Rumford.
Adam Blyth, Daniel Fox and Steven Jeffress completed an all-Australian top five at ten under, with Ryan Fox, Lucas Herbert and Johannes Veerman a further shot back.
There was a two-shot swing at the first as Rumford made just his third bogey of the week after driving way right and Bransdon started his day with a birdie.
Another birdie on the second moved the 43 year old into the lead on his own but he was not the only man making a fast start on a morning full of red numbers.
Blyth also birdied the first and second, Western Australian Daniel Fox had gains on the first and third, and Veerman also made a gain on his opener.
Herbert had made the fastest start of them all, driving the first to set up an eagle from eight feet but a double-bogey on the second saw him drop straight back to nine under where he had started.
A Veerman bogey on the third dropped him alongside Herbert where he was joined by Ryan Fox who had birdies on the fourth and sixth to complete the coveted top eight spots as things stood.
Adam Bland was making a big charge through the field at four under through 13 holes to get to eight under for the week alongside Mark Foster who turned in 33.
Austin Connelly, Nick Cullen, Michael Long, Louis Oosthuizen, Jason Scrivener and Hideto Tanihara were all also at eight under, with 12 players a further shot back in the race for the top 24.
