New Zealander Michael Hendry has mastered increasingly windy conditions at 13th Beach to extend his lead at the men's Vic Open to three shots with one round to play.
The 43-year-old Hendry's only blemish on Saturday was a double-bogey six on the 14th hole when he was forced to take a penalty drop after an errant drive.
But that was more than compensated for by five birdies in a round of three-under 69 that took him to 21-under 195.
Australian Justin Warren (67) was in outright second at 18 under, making him the only member of the chasing pack within five shots of the Kiwi frontrunner.
"It was definitely tougher today," said Hendry, who has been a regular on the Japanese Tour for a decade.
"It didn't blow as much as I've seen it blow out here but it was kind of flukey and moving around a bit.
"It made it particularly difficult on the front nine to get a gauge on whether the wind was into, down or straight across.
"But once I got a feel for the wind after half a dozen holes I started to hit the ball a bit better."
Hendry was particularly pleased with his tally of five birdies.
"It's a lot harder to hit the ball close to the hole when the wind is blowing and the pins always get a bit trickier on the weekend," he said.
"You've just got to keep making birdies around here and hope that the bad holes are bogeys rather than doubles."
There were three Australians in a tie for third at 15 under - Elvis Smylie, Aaron Townsend and amateur Jack Buchanan.
Daniel Gale carded the round of the day, an 8-under 64 highlighted by an eagle-two on the short par-4 15th, to move into a tie for ninth at 13 under.
The New South Welshman made his US PGA Tour debut last year when he qualified for the 3M Open in Minnesota.
