Australians Jordan Zunic and Kristopher Mueck have surged into the lead after three days of the BMW New Zealand Open in Queenstown.

Taking advantage of near perfect conditions, the two Aussies went on a birdie-fest at The Hills, reaching 15-under with one round to play.

Zunic played near flawless golf to card a 6-under 66, his only blemish a bogey at the par four 18th.

"I played well all day and holed a lot of putts so to have one bogey I’m not going to complain. I’m extremely happy," said Zunic.

"Starting with an eagle always helps. It was a longish putt so I wasn’t expecting to hole it but fortunately it did go in so I went to the next and said let’s just build from this."

Likewise, Mueck played sublime golf for much of the day, carding a 7-under 65 including nine birdies and two bogeys.

He’s now perfectly placed to go one better than last weekend’s runner-up finish at the Holden New Zealand PGA Championship.

"It’s a good position to be in going into round four," said Mueck.

"I didn’t think I would be up there, so I’m looking good for a chance tomorrow."

Another two Aussies are just one shot off the pace in a tie for third with a round to play, with Matt Jager and Aaron Pike both at 14-under.

Josh Geary is the leading hope for a Kiwi victory after a solid 6-under 66.  He’s an outside chance to chase the leaders down at 11-under.

"I swung a lot better today.  I found something last night at the range and putted better too," said Geary

"It could have been a really low one, it was so close to being really good.  I had a few putts slide by today but I’m pretty happy with the score."

Meanwhile,  Aaron Pike is in prime position to take out the Pro-Am teams event.

Pike and his amateur partner Simon George are at 33-under after three rounds, five shots clear of the field.

Only two celebrities remain in the hunt after making the top 10 cut off for the final round.

Former New Zealand cricketer Mark Richardson and Amazing Race presenter Phil Keoghan are both at 26-under.  Richardson has the benefit of playing with co-leader Kristopher Mueck while Keoghan is teamed with Kiwi Doug Holloway.

For all round 3 Professional scores please click here.

For all round 3 team scores please click here.

For all round 4 tee times please click here.