Jakarta: Indian golfers had a good start in the third round but play was halted all too soon as adverse weather forced suspension of play at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters on Saturday.
Shiv Kapur was two-under through four holes, while Anirban Lahiri and Jyoti Randhawa were three-under with half their round still to play, and Gaganjeet Bhullar too was two-under through seven.
However, Lee Westwood continued to hold sway at the top as he birdied the first and fourth holes to move to 13-under before play was suspended due to lightning threats at 1.08pm local time. Play was subsequently called off for the day at 5pm as weather conditions did not improve at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.
Kapur birdied the first and fourth to go to seven-under and he was tied third.
Lahiri, winner of SAIL-SBI Open this season, birdied the third and then had three in a row from fifth to seventh. However, a bogey on eighth saw him at three-under for the day and five-under for the tournament with 10 more holes to go. He was tied ninth.
Randhawa, who slipped after a good first day, was catching up again as he was three-under through nine with four birdies and a bogey to be tied 13th, the same as Bhullar, who birdied twice in seven holes to be four-under.
Sujjan Singh was even through nine and Ajeetesh Sandhu was also even after seven. Himmat Rai, four-over through 10 holes, Shankar Das, two-over after four, and Rashid Khan, three-over after five, had made the cut but were struggling in third round.
Westwood, third at the Masters tournament two weeks ago, will be among 69 players who will return at 6.45am on Sunday to complete their rounds. The fourth and final round will start at 9.30am local time.
"The suspension stopped a bit of momentum going, but if it is dangerous weather out there, then it is the safest thing to do. It is disappointing for everybody - the players, sponsors and the spectators - but this is the nature of the weather in this part of the world. I'm in a good position and I'll come out tomorrow and try to keep the form up," said the Englishman, ranked third in the world.
Zaw Moe of Myanmar was Westwood's closest challenger as he lies on nine-under through four holes at the $750,000 Asian Tour event.
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