Moving day lived up to its name with overnight leader Cooper Eccleston finding trouble on the back-nine as the winds picked up, enabling chasers Ethan Andrews and Fraser Droop to take the lead.

Lakelands Country Club Trainee Ethan Andrews and Yarrawonga Mulwala Resort Trainee Fraser Droop, hold a one-stroke lead after both carding rounds of 1-under 71 in trying conditions.

Andrews enjoyed the challenge as the conditions became more testing.

“It was pretty tough today. Windy conditions made for a lot of tough shots, but it was good fun battling out there,” he said.

Droop also acknowledged the trying conditions.

“It was pretty tough and got really gusty towards the end, but it was good to grind it out and get in under par.”

International Trainees Blair Riordan (NZ) and Michael Bullen (UK) put their talent on show shooting the two best rounds of the day, a 5-under 67 and 4-under 68 respectively.

“It was a pretty good round,” Riordan reflected. ”I had plenty of birdies, a double and a few other bits and pieces so it was interesting golf.”

Experiencing the differences Australian courses have to offer has been an experience for Bullen who praised the condition of the Ballarat Golf Club layout.

“The course is in really good condition. It’s really different from home, particularly the grain on the greens which I’m finding hard to get used to, but I dealt with it well today,” Bullen said.

Plenty of players remain in contention with the top-10 all within six shots of the lead.

With more unpredictable, blustery conditions forecast for the final round, the PGA Futures Championship will likely go down to the wire.

Watch all the live scores on the PGA of Australia app or on pga.org.au. The final round commences at 7:30am.