Voke’s two-stroke lead overnight quickly became six when the three-time PGA TOUR Series China winner had two birdies and a bogey to start his round as playing partner Declan O’Donovan made a double-bogey at the par-3 second and then dropped another shot at the par-4 third.

The lead would grow to as many as eight when Voke followed up an eagle at five with birdies at six and seven yet that’s when the runaway train stalled as Voke eyed a rarely-hit scoring mark.

“I was 5 (under) through seven thinking, What’s going on here?” Voke said after his 5-under 67 that has Asian Tour regular at 22-under for the tournament.

“Then I asked Tom (Power Horan), there might be a chance we get to 30 (under) and so that would be nice. But look, tomorrow, I haven’t looked at weather, the forecast all week, I’ll just kind roll up and whatever it is, I’ll just do the best I can and go from there.”

The stall in Voke’s scoring came as the wind lifted to its peak of the week and as the likes of Jake McLeod (65), fellow Kiwi Tyler Wood (64) and Travis Smyth (66) charged.

A perennial contender this Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season, McLeod’s round came without a bogey as the former Order of Merit winner lifted himself to 18-under and second alone.

“It was good. Another good day today,” McLeod said.

“It’s always good when you have a bogey-free day for two in a row now, so very pleased with that. The game’s been trending for a long time now. I’ve done some really good work.”

Wood’s round was also without a bogey as he returned to a venue with positive memories of a different nature, having caddied for Kazuma Kobori on his way to victory in 2024.

His 64 took the New Zealander to 15-under alongside Smyth and Jack Munro, with Cassie Porter’s round of the day, a 9-under 63, elevating her to tied sixth with Ryan Peake on 14-under.

“The opportunities are definitely out there if you want to take advantage of them. Just requires a few good shots and hopefully a few putts drop,” Porter said after recording two eagles, including one at the par-5 first hole, in her third round.

“It’s felt close for a while, but as we all know, this game has so many swings and roundabouts.

“It’s nice for it to click every now and then.”

Despite not quite clicking as well as it has in the earlier rounds, Voke’s game was still good enough to scrape through without damage. The 30-year-old’s 194 total for 54-holes is a new tournament low, bettering the 196 mark set by Daniel Gale and Jeffrey Guan in 2022 at Bonnie Doon.

Voke’s most important, and perhaps lucky, par in a streak that began at the par-4 eighth came at the par-3 17th hole, when his ball was spared a watery grave by a collar of rough and he fashioned a superb pitch shot to four feet before holing out for par.

“Did you see the break I got on 17? Yes. Did you like that three?” Voke said with a smile.

“It was really weird. I got off to an absolute flyer, just roaring out of the gates and then I played fine. The wind got up, it got tricky; a couple of 12-footers I missed.

“I had a few birdie ops, missed them, but the ones where I was in trouble, able to make my par and move on. It’s just a weird one.

“You’ve just got to say, ‘Golf’s hard. It was windy out there. Give yourself a break. Go get some Frangos (chicken) tonight and get it tomorrow’.”

Vic Open Inclusive champion Lachlan Wood has a three-shot buffer after Round 1 of the All Abilities tournament after a five birdie round of 2-under par on Saturday, with Victorian Tom Ryan the next best with a round of 1-over 73.

Meanwhile, in the Junior Players Series, Nicholas Heanes is at 1-under and three shots in front of Owen Brightman, Cooper Giddings and Kiara Connolly-Jackson.

Webex Players Series Sydney is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.