Ogilvy, the 2006 US Open champion, had a 54-hole total of 16-under 200. Australian Matt Jones, who trailed Ogilvy by a stroke going into the third round, fell off the pace with a 71, one shot better than Australians Greg Chalmers (66) and Alistair Presnell (67), who are tied for third, six back of Ogilvy.
John Senden, who won the Australian Open in 2006, was in fifth place after a 70, level with fellow Australian Matthew Griffin, who shot 72, each seven strokes back.
Ogilvy, who has won three World Golf Championship titles as well as his 2006 major, has never won the Australian Open. His only pro win Down Under came at the Australian PGA in 2008.
He bogeyed the final hole Saturday, a tough par-3.
“I played so well the past few days, so I guess I can't complain about that,” he said. “I've given myself a little bit of room from the field, which is good.” However, Ogilvy headed to the practice range after his round, upset with himself for pushing a 5-iron right of the 18th green.
“I would not normally rush to the range, but I wanted to get it out of my head straightaway,” Ogilvy said. “Even if you shot 59 and you bogeyed the last, you wouldn't be happy. I just wanted to hit a few similar-type shots on the range and get it out of the system.” Greg Norman, who shot 70 Saturday and is 13 shots off the lead, said he was no fan of the new, slow undulating greens at The Lakes.
“They're too slow for me,” Norman said. “I'm a fast-green putter and I can't get the right line or the speed with them, so you're always fighting and you've got to hit the ball too hard to really get comfortable.
“They've got so much undulation, they can't get them too much quicker. If you got them any quicker, balls would be rolling into the water and balls rolling off the greens.
The 55-year-old Norman said the greens were basically not fit for an Australian Open.
“It's a problem if you're going to have a golf championship here,” Norman said. “For the members, it's not. For the members, you're going to have to keep them pretty slow for them or they'd never get around here.
“But obviously someone's feeling good with it. They're shooting 13-under, but they're just not my cup of tea.” Norman's fellow Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples and American John Daly both missed the 36-hole cut by a stroke.
