Tasman amateur Blair Riordan has dodged trouble and the worst of the conditions to pull four shots clear at the Carrus Tauranga Open.

The Takaka player fired a five under par score of 65 in favourable conditions to take his score to twelve under – four shots clear of Taupo PGA professional Troy Ropiha in outright second place.

The third round of the Carrus Open is underway today.

After a disappointing one over par score of 71, Mark Brown sits a further three shots back in a four-way tie for third place at five under with Mount Maunganui amateur Brad Kendall, Peter Spearman-Burn and Jason Gulasekharam.

Another group of four - Jared Pender, Kueran Muir, David Klein and Doug Holloway - are eight shots off the pace but still in contention one shot back at four under par.

The tournament is set up well going into the weekend, with a host of contenders set to strike in conditions that are expected to improve.

Ropiha looks dangerous after recording scores of 65 and 67 in his bid to become the fourth golfer to win three titles on the Charles Tour.

He won last week at the Wanganui Pro-Am, and was happy with his score in blustery conditions he described as the worst he had played in at the course.

He wasted an opportunity to go bogey-free with a five on the final hole, but will be more than happy with his work on the first two days.

The cut was made at the five over par two round total of 145.

Taupo's Grace Senior leads the women's field by a stroke.