Ogilvy, the 2006 US Open champion, set the tone with an eagle two at the opening hole.
He then made birdies at the second and third holes, the latter thanks to a 12m putt that trickled into the hole.
A bogey at the fifth interrupted the romp before Ogilvy finished his outward half with three more birdies from the sixth to the ninth.
Yet another birdie at the 10th took him seven under for the day and 12 under for the tournament.
The Ogilvy blitz handed him control of the tournament, taking over from Englishman and overnight leader Ian Poulter who had picked up one shot in his first six holes having started the day at nine under.
Also on the march was Brett McCullough from NSW at nine under thanks to an opening half of 31, four-under par.
Ogilvy's only error came at the par-four fifth where his approach went through the green.
That blemish aside, his round had been impeccable with four of his birdie putts being made from inside three metres and his opening eagle putt a routine effort of less than two metres.
As Ogilvy stormed to the top of the leaderboard, world No.1 Luke Donald did his best to stay in touch for what is shaping as an outstanding final day.
Donald started Saturday at three under and picked up two shots on the front nine to be out in 33.
After 13 holes he was seven shots off the lead at five under.