New South Welshman James Nitties and New Zealander Josh Geary will head into the final round of the Mazda NSW Open tied for the lead.

Starting the day with one shot lead Nitties shot 1-under 71 while Josh Geary fired 4-under 68 to be tied at 14-under the card after 54 holes.

Sitting two shots off the pace are US Amateur champion Gunn Yang (KOR) and Victorian Daniel Valente who each fired 6-under 66 in the third round. 

Rounding out the top-5 on the leaderboard at 11-under the card are Nathan Green (NSW) and Anthony Brown (VIC).

Recovering well from a tough start Geary put five birdies on his card to make the turn at 4-under the card.

"I had a shank on the first hole and was off to a shaky start but I played great the next seven or eight holes, I got those shots back and more," said Geary.

"My game feels great, it was good to piggie back on those good shots that I had today."

Turning his attention to Sunday, Geary believes he will need to post a low number to win the Mazda NSW Open.

"I was behind by three or four heading into today. I managed to catch James so it should be a good dual tomorrow."

"There are so many guys within two or three shots of the lead."

"Regardless of what James does, I really need to come out and post a good number because I need to beat the rest of the field too."

Nitties was less impressed with his round feeling like he failed to capitalise on his opportunities.

"I felt like I left a few opportunities out on the front nine and made a couple of soft bogeys on the back nine," said Nitties.

 
"I really feel like it was a lost opportunity, the whole round, Josh and I really had a chance to distance ourselves from the field."

"It wasn’t a great day but I still feel like I played well, I am still co-leader, it’s a good position to play from and hopefully win tomorrow."

Heading into the final round Nitties also believes the competiton will be fierce.

"There are a lot of guys nipping out the heels," added Nitties.

"Josh has won a bunch of these and is pretty universally veteran-ised"

"Then you have guys like Nathan Green and the other grizzled vets chasing us down."

"I think it’s pretty much a shoot out between five or six guys, it’s just going to be whoever can make the most birdies." 

Heading into the final round there are 18 players within six shots of the lead.

The final round will tee off at 7am with Nitties and Geary on course at 11am.