Gabriela Ruffles leads Australian trio, with Minjee Lee and Grace Kim, in hunt for Evian Championship
Lurking one stroke back is three-time major champion, and former Evian Championship winner, Minjee Lee and fellow Australian Grace Kim.
Gainer, making her debut at the fourth women's major of the year, surged up the leaderboard with a 64 highlighted by an eagle on the seventh hole and six additional birdies.
'I made a great par save on the first which really settled my nerves,' said Gainer.
'My eagle putt was definitely a highlight of the day. I hit a great drive, a great hybrid into the green about ten feet and holed the putt.'
Ruffels faltered at the start of her round with a bogey on the opening hole but bounced back straight away with a birdie, then added six more.
She said: 'I'm having so much fun.
'This is what you practice for, what you play for. I've been working so hard, and it's great to see the hard work pay off.'
One shot behind the pair in a tie for third on 10-under par are Lee and Kim, Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul and South Korean overnight leader Lee So-mi.
Lee trailed by seven shots going into the final round of the Evian Championship in 2021, and said that gave her confidence that she could produce something special here.
'I'm usually always pretty relaxed, but I definitely feel like I have a different mentality and maybe a little bit different fire in me after KPMG,' said Lee.
'I definitely have a little different motivation I think coming off that win.
'I just feel like I'm in a really good position right now and can chase tomorrow.
'Obviously I was way back (in 2021) and I shot a really good score on Sunday to get into that playoff.
'Going into that I wasn't expecting to shoot a score like that, but then I did and I was obviously happy.
'I was really clutch in the playoff, so that really brings back great memories.
'It feels like a lifetime ago really. Four years, that sounds like a long time.'
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