Queenslander Aaron Pike has shredded the front nine at Cypress Lakes to take a three-shot lead going into the final round of the $200,000 TPS Hunter Valley.
Seeking his third Australasian tour title, 36-year-old Pike shot a seven-under 62 on Saturday after charging through the course's first nine holes in six-under 29 with six birdies.
He leads the mixed gender tournament from NSW's Josh Armstrong (67) and young Kiwi pro Momoka Kobori (69) who are tied at five under, one shot clear of former US tour player Michael Sim (66), NSW's Jay Mackenzie (66) and Queensland rookie pro Cassie Porter (68).
A good friend of former world No.1 Jason Day since they attended school together, Pike announced himself in golf 16 years ago when as an amateur he finished fourth in the 2006 Australian Masters won by Justin Rose.
There have been some big injury setbacks since but he finally broke through when he won the Victorian PGA title in 2018 before claiming the NT PGA title in 2020.
Kobori, Porter and NSW amateur Kelsey Bennett (three under, tied seventh) lead the women's contingent in the Webex Series tournament, where men and women play in the same field for same trophy.
The tournament was reduced from 72 holes to 54 holes after the east coast's flooding rains made play impossible on Thursday.
