With the leaders in the men’s and women’s tournaments about to tee off, spectators have lined up along the entire length of the first hole, from tee to green.

Lee has a share of the lead with Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino at 13-under, but with 14 more players within four strokes on a heavily congested leaderboard.

Lee is the favourite after also winning last weekend’s Australian PGA title in Queensland but has plenty of strong contenders breathing down his neck.

If he succeeds, he’ll be the first player to complete the rare double in 12 years, plus he’ll achieve a whole range of other things, including:

• His fifth professional title
• His fourth DP World Tour (European) win on his 83rd appearance
• Could move to a new career high of 33rd on the Official World Golf Ranking, from 38th.

With the sun shining, The Australian course looks in perfect condition and the early starters have been posting some low scores.

The defending champion Adrian Meronk of Poland and American Julian Suri both fired matching rounds of five-under 66 to set the clubhouse lead at nine-under.

Adam Scott is two-under for the day and six-under in total after six holes.

South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai leads the women’s title she won last year by three shots heading into the last round.

SCOTT AND HERBERT JOINT LEADERS AT OPEN

Adam Scott has joined Lucas Herbert at the top of the Australian Open leaderboard after making his seventh birdie of the day at the par three 13th.

Scott started the day five shots off joint leaders Min Woo Lee and Rikuya Hoshino but put together a red-hot back nine – he started on the 10th – as he reeled in the leaders with five holes remaining in his final round.

Herbert got off to a flyer as well, making three birdies through his opening six holes to join Scott at the top of a congested leaderboard.

Lee and Hoshino both dropped shots through their opening six holes as they surrendered top spot on the leaderboard.

Rising Aussie star’s final day charge for rare slice of history

The coronation is almost complete.

A week after prevailing in a final day duel with Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino at the Australian PGA, Min Woo Lee will begin the final round of the Australian Open with a familiar face standing between him and the Stonehaven Cup.

Hoshino arrived in Sydney hellbent on retribution after he was relegated to runner-up in Queensland by a flying Lee. He has given himself a shot at just that after firing a six under par 65 at The Australian Golf Club on Saturday, finishing his third round alongside Lee at 13 under.

The duo are one clear of a chasing pack that includes England’s Alex Fitzpatrick and American Patrick Rodgers.

The man they will need to beat is the flying Aussie who has captured the hearts and minds of the Australian sporting public over the past fortnight.

Lee had a day of mixed fortunes at The Australian Golf Club. There were moments of brilliance interspersed with the occasional wayward shot on a day when his round was best summed up at the par five 18th, a hole that can make or break your tournament dreams.

Lee reeled away in disgust after hitting his second from the rough into the greenside bunker. It was the sort of shot Lee has eaten up in recent weeks.

He then made a clutch putt for birdie to the roars of the galleries who have followed him through the opening three days in Sydney. Lee has become a one-man promotion machine for tournament organisers.

Broadcast ratings were through the roof on Thursday and Friday thanks to the Lee effect and he has ensured plenty of eyeballs will be on the sport on Sunday as he heads into the final round hoping to come only the sixth person in history to complete the PGA-Open double.

Don’t bet against him. At times on Saturday he cut a frustrated figure as things didn’t go to plan. In a sign of his growing maturity, he shook it off and signed for a one under par 70, good enough to give him a shot at his maiden Open triumph.

Lee had started the third round with a healthy buffer but he had had his lead cut back to one shot after he found trouble at the third, his ball bouncing into a watery grave after he lost his second shot into the lake protecting the green.

Lee walked off with a double bogey and Scotland’s Connor Syme was hot on his heels at 10 under. Lee responded the same way he has all summer – with shades of brilliance.

He made par at the next and then made consecutive birdies to reassert his dominance, only to concede a shot at the 10th and find himself in a share of the lead with Hoshino.

Three holes later, Lee was in a three-way tie for the lead as Rodgers got hot to grab a share of top spot. Lee was under siege as his bid to make it back-to-back wins began to falter.

When Hoshino made birdie at the 18th, the tournament had a new leader. Lee had the final say though as he had the gallery on their feet with a birdie at the last.

Adam Scott (67) was among those to make an early charge as he opened his third round with four birdies in his first five holes, including three in succession.

He stumbled after that as his round went cold and he looks too far off the pace to make an impact on Sunday. The same goes for Cameron Smith (69), who also got off to a fast start but struggled to make an impact after that.

“Promising for tomorrow – it felt better today,” Scott said.

“It was an ideal start. There is a lot of people and shots between them and me so I just have to shoot a low score. I really just have to play a great round of golf but it is possible out here.

“If I was a couple (of shots) better I would feel really good about tomorrow. I always play alright but I need that final ingredient to bring it out.

“You never know. A few guys shot 65 today. A 65 or 64? The course is hard when you are leading. So those leaders are going to feel pressure.”

The biggest movers among the local contingent were Lucas Herbert (66) and two-time winner Matt Jones (68).

Originally published as Australian Open golf 2023: Live leaderboard and news, Min Woo Lee’s charge to another title