Saturday 20 January 2018 12:02, UK
Sergio Garcia was two shots off the lead when play was called to a halt in the weather-hit SMBC Singapore Open on Saturday.
The Spaniard sits at seven under after playing nine holes of his third round at Sentosa Golf Club, putting him in a seven-way tie for third place.
The septet are two shots behind joint-leaders Chapchai Nirat and Danthai Boonma of Thailand, who have played nine and 15 holes respectively of their third rounds.
After storms interrupted play on the opening two days, 78 players returned to the course to complete their second rounds early on Saturday morning.
Japan's Ryo Ishikawa was the main early mover as he posted four birdies in 10 holes to card a 66 and join Nirat in the halfway lead at seven under.
Garcia's second-round 70 left him just one off the pace as the players headed back out for the third round.
Boonma took the starring role in the afternoon as he charged up the leaderboard with birdies at the second, fourth and ninth on the front nine, with his only blemish coming at the sixth.
Further birdies at the 10th, 12th and 15th - shortly before play ended due to lightning strikes in the area - then took him to five under for his round with three holes remaining, and alongside Nirat, who recovered from a bogey at the third with birdies at the fourth, sixth and seventh to get to nine under.
Masters Champion Garcia also birdied the sixth and seventh following a bogey at the second, while Ishikawa has produced a mixed bag so far in his level-par third round.
The 26-year-old birdied the first two holes, but double-bogeyed the third for the third day running before recovering with a birdie at the fourth, only to bogey the seventh.
Garcia, who was playing the 10th hole when the siren sounded, said: "Let's see if we can finish the round, that will be nice. But I think if I can play four under I should have a chance.
"I felt like I hit the ball okay. My putting and all went great but my speed hasn't been great on this green so let's see if I can be a little more aggressive on the rounds this weekend."
Last season's Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Gavin Green is also in the group on seven under, after playing 14 holes in three under par, along with South African Shaun Norris and American Casey O'Toole.
Play will resume at 7:40am local time on Sunday with Boonma and Nirat in pole position to win one of the four places on offer for the 147th Open at Carnoustie in July, with the Singapore Open being the third event of 12 events in The Open Qualifying Series.
