Min Woo Lee will take a three shot lead into the final day of the 2020 ISPS Handa Vic Open as he looks to follow in his sister's footsteps and claim a first European Tour title on home soil.
High winds made scoring extremely difficult on day three on the Beach Course but a stunning closing eagle moved Lee to 15 under after a 68.
The 21-year-old's elder sister Minjee is a two time winner of the women's event at 13th Beach Golf Club and was in the hunt again as the Lee clan set up the tantalising prospect of a family double in Victoria.
The men and women play the same courses for equal prize money this week and Minjee was five shots behind 54 hole leader Ayean Cho in the women's event.
Australians Marcus Fraser and Travis Smyth were three shots behind Min Woo in the men's event, two clear of Frenchman Robin Sciot-Siegrist and home trio Ashley Hall, Matthew Millar and Anthony Quayle.
Lee announced himself on the European Tour two years ago this week when he made the quarter-finals of the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth as an amateur.
After making his professional and Rolex Series debut at the following season's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA, Lee achieved back to back top fives but narrowly missed out on keeping his playing privileges in his rookie campaign.
He recorded a best European Tour finish as he finished third at the Australian PGA Championship just before Christmas, and he will now look for a first win in just his 19th start.
"It was probably one of the best rounds I've ever played regardless of score," he said.
"I've hit it pretty solid. There were a couple of shots that were bad but that happens in 50 kilometre winds so I'm pretty happy and should be proud of the way I played.
"I feel like I'm good enough to keep my card regardless of winning or not. I'm looking forward to if I do win but I'm just going to go out there and keep playing the way I am.
It was probably one of the best rounds I've ever played regardless of score
"I'm not sure how Minjee is going, hopefully she's playing okay, and we can tussle it out to the end. It would be nice to win a tournament and I think it would be one of the only tournaments that a brother and sister has won, so that should be cool."
Smyth got on the second green in two for his first birdie of the day and a share of the lead, with an excellent approach into the fourth and early stumbles from overnight leader Sciot-Siegrist moving him two ahead.
Lee had taken advantage of the par five second and did the same at the fifth following an excellent third shot to get to 13 under.
He dropped a shot on the eighth but holed a 15 foot right to lefter on the ninth to turn in 34 before a Smyth three putt on the eighth meant there was a tie at the top
The surging Fraser made it a three way logjam at the summit as the 41-year-old eagled the second and birdied the seventh before giving the shot back on the next to turn in 34.
As many of the field were struggling with the ever increasing wind, Fraser used all his experience to birdie the 13th and 15th but he dropped a shot on the penultimate hole.
Smyth dropped shots on the tenth and 11th and a Lee approach to four feet at the 15th moved him two ahead.
The leader bogeyed the 17th but a two iron downwind on the 18th left him a wedge into the par five, and he holed from ten feet to burst three clear.
Smyth's chances looked to be gone when he found an unplayable lie and missed a short putt to double bogey the 14th but he hit back with birdies on the 15th, 16th and last.
Quayle carded the lowest round of the day with a 67, one better than Millar and four better than Hall, as Sciot-Siegrist signed for a 76.
Kiwi Ryan Fox, England's Matthew Jordan, Swede Rikard Karlberg and home amateur Jed Morgan were six shots off the lead.
