In the toughest conditions of the week, Wang – who had led from the outset – produced an impressive 4-under 68 to reach 8-under, four clear of Amelia Harris (69) and overnight co-leader Amy Tang (72).

In the boys’ championship, Johnson’s even-par round was enough to hold top spot at 6-under, with defending champion Cooper Moore (71) and Round 1 leader Ryan Xie (70) one shot back.

Gusts of up to 50km/h and periods of rain wreaked havoc across the field, with just six of the 155 players in the boys’ and girls’ fields finishing under par on Thursday.

Wang of Remuera Golf Club managed the conditions superbly, carding eight birdies while inevitably dropping shots with a double-bogey and two bogeys.

An inspired finish propelled her ahead, with the 15-year-old bouncing back from consecutive bogeys on 10 and 11 with birdies on five of her final seven holes to open up a commanding lead.

“Definitely not feeling as much pressure going into the final round,” Wang said.

“I’m still just going to play my own game and not really think about the scores.”

Victorian Amelia Harris posted her best round of the week with a 3-under 69 to move to 4-under, alongside Tang, while Camilla Kim and Feiyu Xing shared fourth at even par.

In the boys championship, Johnson’s round of even par was enough to maintain his advantage, despite early pressure from Moore.

The defending champion caught fire on the front nine, surging to a 5-under 31 – highlighted by an eagle and three birdies – to grab a two-shot lead as Johnson turned in 1-under.

“He holed a lot of great putts, so I didn’t let it really phase me,” Johnson said.

“I just stuck to my game plan and it worked for the most part. I made a few poor swings late, a few tired swings, but I managed to hang in there.”

Moore had also shot 31 on the front nine the previous day, but in far tougher conditions, the effort carried even more weight.

It was a different story for Moore on the back nine, with a double-bogey and bogey on 14 and 15 dropping him back to 6-under.

That opened the door for Johnson, who briefly reached 8-under with an eagle of his own on 13.

A shaky finish of double bogey-birdie-bogey saw Johnson return to 6-under, while Moore’s closing stretch of par-bogey-par left him one shot adrift.

Moore likened the conditions to those he faced at the New Zealand PGA Championship at Paraparaumu Beach, where he finished runner-up against a strong professional field.

Those experiences, combined with last year’s Australian Junior Amateur win, had him confident heading into the final round.

“All those little experiences lead up to moments like tomorrow and bigger things in the future as well,” Moore said.

Round 1 leader Ryan Xie remained firmly in contention after a 2-under round, tied for second alongside Moore, while Cordell Hanare and Blake Cranston sat two shots back at 3-under with Japan’s Kanchiro Katano and Harry Gourlay rounding out the top six at 2-under.

The top 36 and ties across both the boys and girls championships contested Friday’s final round.