Aussie pair share lead going into final round

Australia's Matthew Griffin tees off during day three of the New Zealand Open at Millbrook. Photo: Getty Images

Veteran Australians Matthew Griffin and Scott Hend share a one-shot lead heading into tomorrow’s final round of the New Zealand Open at Millbrook.

Griffin, the 2016 Open champion when it finished at The Hills, continued his consistent form with a 4-under-par 67 in scorching conditions today to move to 14-under for the tournament.

He nearly had a dramatic wobble on the 17th when his second shot veered wide left and ended up in the scorer’s tent, but he was allowed a free drop and still managed par.

"There’s plenty that can happen on 17," Griffin said after his round.

"I was a bit inbetween. You don’t win golf tournaments without playing the hard shots and in the end, I got a good break."

Griffin said the wind on course picked up and changed directions after the first nine holes, which made it tricky coming home.

He has a clear view of how he wants tomorrow to play out.

"I have played well doing my own thing. So same thing tomorrow — put my head down and if I can shoot a good score tomorrow, I will make it really hard to beat me.

"There are a lot of good players behind me so if someone goes out and shoots a really low score and beats me, that’s what it is, but I will make sure I am hard to beat."

Griffin was later matched by 50-year-old Hend, who had led the tournament after the first round alongside Griffin and had a two-shot buffer to himself after the second.

Scott Hend of Australia played the shot of the tournament today. Photo: Getty Images

Hend was mooching along quietly today before he played the shot of the tournament, an unassuming sand iron from about 125m into the par-4 17th green. The ball stopped, restarted and rolled calmly and directly into the hole for eagle.

"I played it up the spine of the green and I was hoping to get a little kick," Hend said.

"It did — got lucky, went in.”

Josh Geary carries the hopes of most of the New Zealand fans seeking a homegrown champion.

Geary had five birdies and two bogies in his 68, and is one shot off the pace, joining Japanese golfers Kodai Ichihara, whose 63 was the round of the day, and Takahiro Hataji at 13-under.

South African golfer Ian Snyman and Hong Kong-raised, US college-educated star Taichi Kho are at 12-under.

One of the best — and, without sounding harsh, most unexpected — rounds came from unheralded New Zealand golfer James Hydes.

The young North Harbour professional fired a flawless 7-under-par 64 to move to 11-under for the tournament.

Hydes had a run of three birdies on the front nine and finished with birdie on the 153m par-3 18th, a day after making the cut right on the 4-under line.

"It was ultra nerve-wracking coming in yesterday ," he said.

"It was a long wait over dinner but I was stoked to make the cut. I felt like today I could free things up a bit and climb the leaderboard as much as I could.

New Zealand's Josh Geary carries the hopes of fans seeking a homegrown champion. Photo: Getty Images

"I struggled with the first nine on Coronet yesterday so today I tried to stay patient on the front nine and knew where there were some scoring chances coming in.

"I was 1-over early but made three birdies in a row which kicked me off. The three birdies were on quite hard holes so I knew there were chances coming in and I took advantage of that."

Queenstown golfer Ben Campbell is tied for 21st at 9-under.

The disappointing performer of the day was top-ranked New Zealand golfer Daniel Hillier.

The DP World Tour tournament winner looked a little off from the start of his round, carding a poor 6-over-par 77 to slip back to 4-under and a tie for 70th.