Cameron Smith leads the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship by three shots after posting a third-round two-under-par 69 at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
The Australian carded six birdies and four bogeys in blustery conditions on Saturday to head into the final round on 11 under par, with Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura and China’s Liu Yan Wei his nearest challengers on eight under.
Two-time DP World Tour winner Min Woo Lee and halfway leader Jason Scrivener were part of a four-strong group of Australians with Brad Kennedy and Jake McLeod a shot further back in Brisbane.
Smith, who won The Open Championship earlier this year, began day three a shot adrift of Scrivener, but was two ahead after he made his second birdie of the day with a near ace at the par-three fourth and his countryman made a bogey.
The Major winner made his third birdie of the day at the sixth to lead by three, before another followed at the seventh, but he bogeyed the par-five ninth to hit the turn in 33.
Back-to-back bogeys at the 11th and 12th — where playing partner Kawamura made a birdie — saw Smith’s lead disappear.
But two birdies in a row from the 15th helped him open a four-stroke lead, before he bogeyed the 18th for the first time this week to sign for a 69 which left him wanting more.
"I’d like to be six or seven ahead, to be honest, but it’s a good spot to be in," said Smith.
"I can’t complain. Everything’s feeling really good, so feeling really confident and really looking forward to tomorrow."
Smith is targeting his third title in this event, having won back-to-back in 2017 and 2018, with the 29-year-old also in the field at next week's ISPS HANDA Australian Open, another tournament co-sanctioned with the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.
"Like I said at the start of the week, I wouldn’t complain with another one of these," he added.
"My big thing down here was to have a really big crack at the Aussie Open. I haven’t won one of those yet and I think that would be a really good end to a really good year. I’ll be trying my best tomorrow still."
After parring his opening five holes, Kawamura, who is chasing his first DP World Tour title, birdied the sixth, before parring both the par five seventh and ninth to turn in one-under-par 35.
The Japanese man, who registered three top tens during the 2022 DP World Tour season, then joined Smith in a share of the lead at ten under with a birdie at the 12th but he faltered with bogeys at the 13th and 16th to card a level-par 71.
Liu, who began the day three shots adrift of the lead, mixed a bogey at the third with a birdie at the seventh as he played the front nine holes in level par.
After beginning the back nine with a bogey, his highlight of the round came at the par-three 11th where his tee shot pitched on the green and then hit the flagstick to set up a birdie.
A third and final birdie of the day followed at the 16th to leave him firmly in contention going into Sunday’s final round.
First round co-leader Lee made four front-nine birdies in his 68, which included just one bogey at the tenth, as he climbed back up the leaderboard after a 73 on day two.
It was a different tale for Scrivener as he bogeyed five of his opening 16 holes before a birdie-birdie finish saw him shoot 74, with Kennedy and McLeod also at seven under after they each made three birdies in their one-under-par 70s.
