During the early part of Saturday’s third round it looked as though Bennett would at least be among those sharing the lead, if not alone at the top with 18 holes to play, but instead that honour belongs to Natthakritta Vongtaveelap and Suvichaya Vinijchaitham of Thailand, as well as Jiyoo Lim of Korea and Ting-Hsuan Huang from Chinese Taipei.

Seemingly on cruise control as she poured in three birdies over her first six holes, the 22-year-old reached eight-under for the tournament and right in the thick of things as the overnight leader came back to the field.

However, disaster struck for the St Michael’s member at the par-5 8th, where Bennett eventually noted a triple bogey eight on her scorecard.

Measuring 530 yards, her drive bounced into the right rough, then a 6-iron lay-up took off upon impact, clearing the fairway bunkers she and caddie Rod felt they couldn’t reach. The ball getting some help off the cart path to bury into some vegetation.

A search ensued, and just as an on-course commentator declared it may not be found, Bennett’s Titleist marked with her initials ‘KB’ was discovered.

Vongtaveelap finished with a flourish to earn a share of the lead at eight-under par. PHOTO: Graham Uden/R&A/R&A via Getty Images.

Never considering manufacturing a shot from the lie, Bennett took an unplayable.

Fearing a restricted backswing with a 7- or 8-iron she instead opted for a 9-iron short of the green, her bad luck compounded by a poor chip and three putts.

“I got really unlucky with that shot from the right rough, just jumped and went straight rather than cut. There’s nothing you can do there. And then the three putt didn’t help. So that’s ok,” Bennett said.

“Three is nothing really, so hopefully we can pull out a good one tomorrow." - Kelsey Bennett.

She was happy to see her long birdie try at the next hit the pin, describing the first putt as “hunting” and hoping for it to hit the flag dead centre and drop in for an immediate bounce back.

Par was the result, as it was for the entire back nine for Bennett, who still believes she is right in the hunt.

“Three is nothing really, so hopefully we can pull out a good one tomorrow,” she said.

Those three shots she will need to make up will likely need some help from the leading group as well.

Vongtaveelap finally took advantage of her length off the tee during a four-under third round.

Vinijchaitham is chasing a first ever win in an amateur event at home in Thailand. PHOTO: Graham Uden/R&A/R&A via Getty Images.

Launching a drive at the par-5 18th and finding the narrow green with an iron in two, the Thai raced her eagle putt by the hole, putting more pressure on herself than was needed for her sixth birdie of the day.

“My game was perfect,” Vongtaveelap said of her round. “I feel excited, but for tomorrow it's a new situation.”

Pressure when holding the putter seemed to be getting to Huang as well on Saturday, with a waving stroke suddenly appearing on some short attempts and impact in the toe of the putter never giving the ball a chance of finding the cup.

The 17-year-old’s best birdie of the day coming via a chip-in and not requiring a flatstick, which she was off to work on after the round.

“I'm happy with the front nine but my back nine was a little bit of a shame, because I missed

two par putts. So I'm going to work on it, yeah,” Huang said.

Playing alongside Bennett, Vinijchaitham finds herself with a completely new experience potentially on the horizon on Sunday.

Having never won an amateur event, the Thai’s excitable caddie rode every wave off her four birdie, one bogey round of 69.

Lim rounds out the leading pack after an even par 72 where late birdies meant she remained in the hunt, meanwhile her playing partner and the overnight leader Mizuki Hashimoto might have incurred too much damage from a six-over par closing six holes. The defending champion’s 77 seeing her in a share of ninth at four-under.

Rianne Mikhaela Malixi of the Philippines is the lone player at seven-under following a two-under round that started with a bogey five.

That was the same score the next best Aussie behind Bennett, 18-year-old Justice Bosio started her day with. The Queenslander impressively bouncing back from another shot lost to par at the next hole for a two-under 70 and three-under total good for a share of 12th.

“It was really good, I got off to a rough start. Started bogey-bogey, so I was a bit rattled. But I ended up playing pretty steady after that,” Bosio told Golf Australia magazine. “Get rid of the bogeys and we will be good.”

Next best of the Australian contingent are 15-year-old Sarah Hammett and South Australian Caitlin Peirce on two-over after rounds of 75 and 70 respectively, Maddison Hinson-Tolchard and Kirsten Rudgeley another shot back tied for 35th.

All six Australians contributing to the plentiful birdies dotting the leaderboard with 18 holes to play. A trend that is expected to continue on Sunday when a winner finally breaks free from the pack and walks away with the spoils of two major starts and a trip to Augusta National.