Australian Alistair Presnell has shown what is possible at Kingston Heath with the best of the early third round scores at the JBWere 2009 Australian Masters with a classy six under 66.
The 30 year old winner of the Moonah Classic back in March started the day at plus one after rounds of 73 and 72 but rocketed onto the leaderboard from among the also rans on the strength of his bogey free sojourn around the 6455 metre, par 72 layout in Melbourne's sandbelt.
The big movers whose rounds are not completed are Francois Delamontagne of France and Kiwi Tim Wilkinson who both turned in 32, four under.
Tournament leader Tiger Woods, attired in a white, striped shirt and grey slacks, is now out on the course with playing partner and compatriot Jason Dufner.
Given a rousing cheer when introduced on the first tee, Woods parred the first but his three shot overnight lead was cut to two when James Nitties and Greg Chalmers, playing in the group ahead, both kick started their rounds with a birdie.
The natural order was restored at the second hole, however, when Woods holed a six metre putt for birdie.
Having sorted the contenders from the rest, Kingston Heath is finally ready to invite the elite to step forward on Saturday.
There's already a sting in the bright sunshine at Kingston Heath that will have removed what little moisture the course superintendent ordered to be applied to the course generally and the putting surfaces, in particular, overnight.
Pre-tournament second favourite Geoff Ogilvy was unable to make any headway on Saturday, posting a one under 71 which included a double bogey at the par four 13th.
The 32 year old sits at minus one overall - well short of expectations for the World Number 12 who knows the sandbelt like the back of his hand.
Aaron Baddeley, the 2007 Australian Masters winner was plus three for his round through seven holes, while Manny Villegas of Colombia who started the day at minus six started his round with a double bogey seven and dropped another shot at the third to seemingly slip out of contention.
Other useful rounds completed on Saturday include 69s from Alejandr Canizares and Matthew Griffin.
