World No.2 Adam Scott has hit a hot streak at Royal Melbourne to build a four-shot lead during the third round of the Australian Masters.
Scott, the defending champion, started the day on nine under par, tied for the lead with Victorian 22-year-old Nathan Holman.
But five birdies on the front nine have taken him to 14 under, leaving Holman in second place on 10 under.
Scott birdied the first hole, but his round really took off when he produced some superb golf to pick up four more birdies in the last five holes of the opening nine.
Holman, in his fifth event as a professional, started his round strongly, reaching 12 under after four holes, but faltered with two bogeys in his next three holes to allow Scott to surge clear.
American world No.8 Matt Kuchar was alone in third place, on eight under, helped by a run of four consecutive birdies from the second hole onwards.
New Zealander Ryan Fox shared fourth place with Australians Nick Cullen and Matthew Griffin on seven under.
Fiji’s 50-year-old former world No.1 Vijay Singh made a charge of his own early in Saturday’s round.
Having started the day two under par, he picked up four birdies in the first five holes.
The three-time major winner dropped a shot on the ninth but regained it by sinking a huge birdie putt on the 10th, to be six under par.
Australia’s 2006 US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy made some ground on Saturday, shooting a four-under-par 67 to reach three under for the tournament.
Playing partner Jarrod Lyle shot 70 to be even with the card for the event, in what is his first tournament back after 20 months out fighting cancer.