Abraham Ancer defied blustery conditions to fire a superb seven-under 65 and open up a five-stroke lead after the third round of the Emirates Australian Open in Sydney.
Ancer was in a class of his own at The Lakes on a day when only seven players returned sub-70 scores, making nine birdies and dropping only two shots to storm to the top of the leaderboard with a commanding advantage over the chasing pack on 13 under par.
Teenage Japanese amateur Keita Nakajima emerged as Ancer's closest challenger after he fired a 70 to edge ahead of star American duo Keegan Bradley and Matt Kuchar, while overnight joint-leaders Byeong Hun An (76) and Max McCardle (75) saw their challenges scuppered by the weather.
Ancer produced a remarkable recovery from a bogey at the second as he birdied the next and then reeled off five in a row from the sixth before his run came to an abrupt halt with a bogey-six at the long 11th.
But the Mexican regrouped and birdied the 12th before consolidating his lead with further gains at 16 and 17 before a good par at the last completed a round described by playing partner Bradley as "one of the best I've seen this year".
Ancer, whose only win as a professional was on the Web.com Tour in 2015, said: "It was a very challenging round, but everything went my way, and whenever something didn't go my way, I managed to make at most a bogey, which out here is pretty good.
"It would be awesome to win here. I've seen the names of the players that have won before and it's very inspiring. It would mean the world to me."
Nakajima got to nine under with his fifth birdie of the day at the 17th before a bogey at the last strengthened Ancer's position, while Bradley will head into the final round six strokes off the pace along with Australian veteran Marcus Fraser after both fired 71s.
Kuchar is a further shot adrift after an erratic 73 which featured three birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey at the fifth, while former BMW PGA champion An ran up two double-bogeys in three holes on the back nine as he slumped to four under par.
Meanwhile, Adam Stephens, the Uber driver who was just two shots off the lead after a first-round 69, slipped into a tie for 62nd after a rollercoaster 75 which featured a superb eagle-two at the 13th, although he then double-bogeyed the next and dropped further shots at two of the last three holes to close on three over par.