Brett Rumford will take a two-shot lead in to the weekend at the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth, where top seed Alex Noren suffered an early exit.
Rumford made the most of good conditions at Lake Karrinyup to post a seven-under 65 and move two clear of morning leader David Bransdon, who threatened the course record on his way shooting 64.
The pair are now well-placed to reach the final round, where the innovative format sees the top 24 players after 54 holes progress to a match play shoot-out on Sunday.
Fellow Australian Steven Jeffress sits a further stroke back in third, while Noren missed the cut by one shot despite a bogey-free 69 on Friday.
"For any players, that's why it's going to be so unique and so interesting," Rumford said. There are sort of cuts within cuts this week.
"If you're not thinking about it, then maybe it's a good thing or maybe a bad thing. I'm not too sure, but definitely the top eight is where you want to be. I'm just going to take it one day at a time."
Beginning the day three shots off the pace, Bransdon birdied his opening two holes and followed gains at the 13th and 15th with a 15-footer at the 18th to reach the turn in 31.
Bransdon moved ahead of joint-leader Lucas Herbert with a birdie-three at the first and added further gains over the next two holes, with his bogey-free round falling one stroke short of the course record.
Joint overnight leader Rumford birdied his opening hole and saved par after finding trees at the fourth, before claiming top spot with a run of five consecutive gains from the sixth.
A 30-foot gain at the 13th was cancelled out by a blemish at the next, only for Rumford to double advantage with a birdie-four at the 15th.
Herbert and American Johannes Veerman share fourth spot after matching rounds of 68, while former Perth winners Thorbjørn Olesen and Louis Oosthuizen are on seven under.
Watch the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf. Coverage begins on Saturday from 5am.