Jiyai Shin is eyeing a second Australian Open crown after surging clear midway through her third round at Victoria Golf Club.
The former world No.1 charged to 14 under par with five birdies on the front nine to establish a three-stroke advantage on a star-studded leaderboard.
Halfway leader and playing partner Hannah Green reached the turn in even par to remain at 11 under and in a tie for second with South Africa's reigning British Open champion Ashleigh Buhai.
Buhai embarked a mid-round birdie blitz of four in a row as the leading trio threatened to skip clear of the field.
Shin's fellow former Korean world No.1 So Yeon Ryu was two strokes further back at nine under through nine holes, with Minjee Lee falling seven shots off the pace in outright fifth at seven under.
Shin, a dual major winner and Asia's first golfer to reach the women's top ranking, won the Australian Open in 2013 at Royal Canberra.
No Australian has won the Open since the legendary Karrie Webb claimed her sixth title in 2014, also at Victoria.
Fittingly, Webb has emerged from semi-retirement this week to play in the historic dual-gender Open and was on track to make the controversial second cut on Saturday night.
Only the top 30 players and ties will tee off on Sunday, with Webb sharing 22nd spot at three over with two holes remaining in her third round.
