Joburg Open set for Monday finish after storms disrupt final round

The Joburg Open is heading for a Monday finish after the final round was suspended due to thunderstorms.

Play was halted at 1pm local time (11am GMT) due to the threat of lightning, with heavy rain and hail storms leaving no option but to extend the tournament to a fifth day.

Overnight leader Shubhankar Sharma saw his advantage cut from five strokes to four, with the Indian having Erik van Rooyen as his nearest challenger when play resumes on Monday morning.

Only 33 players were able to get 72 holes completed before the action was halted, with 42 players set to return to the Firethorn Course to finish their rounds at 7.30am local time.

Taking a five-shot lead in to the final round, Sharma briefly increased his cushion to six with a birdie at the par-five second and continued his strong start with a 12-foot gain at the sixth.

Van Rooyen made the biggest move of the chasing back and fired three consecutive birdies from the third, with a gain at the sixth taking him to 18 under and within four of Sharma.

James Morrison shares third spot a further four strokes back alongside Finland's Tapio Pulkkanen, with Marcus Armitage one of three players sharing fifth place.

European Tour Golf

Sharma has 11 holes left to play on Monday, with the top three players in the field this week securing spots at The Open through the Open Qualifying Series.

Watch the final round of the Joburg Open live on Monday from 6am on Sky Sports Golf