Herbert began the third round on Saturday with the lead by one from his vastly more experienced playing partner, who struggled to get anything going on the front nine making all pars. Day found his game on the back nine, however, making three birdies and a solitary bogey to finish with a two-under round of 69 and 10-under total to lead the Australian Open by one with 18 holes of regulation remaining. And heavy winds forecast for the final round.

“I think the biggest thing for me is if I can hit shoot anything in the 60s, I think that will help kind of seal the deal hopefully,” Day said.

The 2015 PGA champion looked anything but sharp early as he missed opportunities to hit short-iron and wedge approaches close. Continuing his par streak through 13 holes, almost as if waiting for 21-year-old Herbert, who made two birdies on the front nine and turned with a two-shot lead, to make a big mistake and fall of the leaderboard.

Herbert impressed all and sundry with his play Saturday. PHOTO: Getty Images/Brett Hemmings

The Victorian appeared to be doing just that at the par-5 5th hole when he hit his second shot from the fairway bunker into the long grass. Only to recover and make bogey.

Again, at the par-3 11th the precocious Herbert looked certain to make a big score having misjudged his tee shot. Losing his ball long and left, forcing him back to the tee. The NSW Open runner-up impressed Day and the ever-growing throng of fans surrounding the final group with a five, all the while keeping his composure.

“I probably didn’t hit it as well as I did the first two days, but I seemed to scramble really well, hole a lot of putts for pars, which I was pretty happy with,” Herbert said after the round.

Herbert was well right off the 12th tee then left with his approach but managed to salvage another par and prove to the World No.12 he had a serious challenge on his hands to win his first national title.

“I was actually really happy to make three with the second ball,” Herbert said of his five at the 11th. “Just a wayward tee shot off 12, I didn’t need to get too stressed out about it. As I sort of proved, I scrambled really well all day, so I tried not to get too stressed about that and just make some more good swings coming in.”

Day finally broke his birdie drought at the par-5 14th after a booming drive allowed him to attack the flag. As he did the previous day, the Queenslander hit his second through the green. Chipping up and holing his birdie putt.

Day didn't have his best but still emerged the leader. PHOTO: Getty Images/Brett Hemmings

“It was tough to try and not to force things,” Day said of his par streak. “I know the crowds are out there trying to - they want to see a lot of birdies and with the conditions that we had today, it slowly went from northeast and switched around to east/northeast and then kind of fluctuated between those two wind directions.”

Herbert matched the former World No.1’s score at 14, walking to the par-3 15th tee tied for the lead. Remarkably appearing to keep his cool and manage his nerves.

30-year-old Day then added another birdie at the par-3 to take the lead on his own by a shot before a par at the 16th hole.

Day then found the fairway bunker at the penultimate hole and was forced to splash out into the fairway and eventually make bogey to fall back into a tie for the lead with Herbert.

Day opened the shoulders at the last and was left with just over 150-metres into the par-5 green. His Victorian playing partner found the fairway bunker forcing a layup that would lead to his fourth straight bogey and an even par round of 71. An impressive round given the gravity of his third round pairing.

“The first couple of holes after I got those nerves out, I was good to go after that,” Herbert said.

LEADERBOARD

The crowd favourite Day found the green comfortably in two and two putted for a birdie four to once again take the lead by a shot from Herbert. Delighting his home fans and tournament organisers, who will be disappointed about the lack of a Jordan Spieth and Day final round showdown.

“… on 17 I hit my 2-iron just down the right and that’s a tough hole because you can hit a 2-iron kind of over that tree on that left and it can run out into the water, so, it’s very touch and go with the line that you take,” Day said of the closing holes. “You’ve obviously got to kind of miss it more to the right than the left, and that was my only bogey of the day, which was unfortunate, but coming back and birdieing the last hole made things a lot better.”

Spieth again struggled to find his best around the Jack Nicklaus-designed layout and is in need of a low round and some help from the leaders if he is to challenge tomorrow.

“We need 8-under; that would probably be enough given the conditions for tomorrow, may not even need that much but it’s going to be so difficult tomorrow that I’ll go out and try and get under par early and just see what the golf course gets to,” Spieth said of his chances.

More likely to figure in the conversation come Sunday afternoon are Cameron Smith and Matt Jones, who both quietly added birdies on Saturday to throw their names in the ring as proven winners used to tussling with Day week in week out on the PGA Tour.

Local member Matt Jones is only three back and a former Australian Open winner. PHOTO: Getty Images/Brett Hemmings

Smith got to seven-under before a bogey at the par-3 15th after his worst shot of the week from the tee meant he would eventually sign for a two-under 69 and six-under total.

“I thought I played a little bit better on the front nine there, to get away with even was a little bit disappointing, but yeah, I mean, there were a couple of scrappy bogeys there at the end that weren’t too good, but out in the wind you can’t really do too much about it,” Smith said.

Club member Jones finished stronger than playing partner Smith, with his birdie at the last securing a seven-under total and a chance to claim his second Stonehaven Cup with a low final round in the predicted heavy winds.

“I didn’t have a good warm up at all and I wasn’t - expectations weren’t too high, so I just went out there and battled away and ended up with a good score,” the 2015 champion said after his round.

Jones will play the final round alongside Swede Jonas Blixt who managed a bogey free 66 in the windy conditions that will have him firmly in the picture on Sunday if the wind gets up as expected.

“I've been doing this for so long now, it feels like - you always want to win, I mean, you always want to get in contention and see if you can pull one out of that,” Blixt said.

Despite the quality of the chasing pack Day is in exactly the position he wants to be. And will likely switch on his game face at some point during the final round as he looks for his first since The Players in 2016. Despite suggesting he would take a similar approach to his cordial round with Herbert on Saturday.

“I’d much rather be in this position than one stroke back,” Day said after his round. “I know that I’ve got a bunch of players behind me that are going to go out there and play their hardest tomorrow and potential could win, so I’ve got to be sharp tomorrow. I’ve got to stay focused and make sure that I keep pushing.

“It’s good to have conversations with someone that you actually enjoy walking the golf course with, take your mind off what’s going on around,” Day said. “It’s difficult, you get lost in your own little world sometimes and sometimes it’s a bad thing; so, you’ve got to kind of just kind of relax. I won’t change tomorrow, he’s too nice of a person for that.”

Day will be hoping his score also doesn’t change on Sunday and he heads back to America with the Stonehaven Cup.

“It would be nice to add my name to that list (Australian Open winners) as well, but the hardest thing for me, you don’t want to get ahead of yourself and it’s easy tonight be able to think about the possibility of holding the Stonehaven Cup for the first time,” Day said. “Like I said, I don’t want to win it just once, I’d like to come back and win it multiple times and try and do my best that way.”