Eddie Pepperell shares third-round lead at delayed Indian Open

Eddie Pepperell climbed into a share of the lead before the third round was suspended at the weather-hit Hero Indian Open in New Delhi.

Pepperell endured a long third day with 16 holes of his second round to complete, and he had moved to six under after 11 holes of the third round before darkness forced the players back to the clubhouse.

The Englishman is tied at the top with defending champion SSP Chawrasia and Carlos Pigem after another day of tough scoring conditions at the DLF Golf and Country Club, with only 11 players under par for the tournament.

Pepperell had an early start after managing only two holes of his second round on Friday evening with more than four hours of play lost over the first two days due to the threat of lightning.

He was one over after 14 holes, but he produced a flying finish as he birdied three of the last four to return a 70 which gave him a share of the lead on five under with Chawrasia, who completed a 67 on day two.

Pepperell opened his third round with five pars before dropping a shot at the sixth, but he restored his spirits late in the day with birdies at the eighth and ninth, and he matched Chawrasia's par at the 11th when the klaxons sounded.

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"I guess I can take confidence from what I've done today," Pepperell said. "I managed to keep my form pretty good all day. I'll try to do that again tomorrow.

"The greens are firm, the pin positions are tricky. The greens are like something you would find at Disneyland. It's difficult. The fairways are tight, there's no let-up. You need to hit good shot after good shot. I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing. I've got a game-plan."

Chawrasia hit back from a bogey at the second with birdies at four and nine to keep him tied at the top in an event in which he has a remarkable record, finishing runner-up four times before finally topping the podium last year.

Pigem birdied the first two holes and picked up three in four around the turn, and the Spaniard will resume with a birdie putt on the 12th green which would give him the outright lead.

Mayasia's Gavin Green produced the most amazing card of the third day, making six consecutive birdies from the fourth, and he responded to a mistake at 16 with a chip-in birdie in the fading light at 17 as he ended the day at five under.

Northern Ireland's Michael Hoey and first-round leader David Horsey are just two off the lead with six and seven holes left respectively, while Scott Jamieson is one further adrift.

Shot of the day went to Jamieson's fellow Scot Duncan Stewart, who holed a 178-yard six-iron for a spectacular hole-in-one at the short fifth - the ninth ace on the European Tour this season.