THOMAS BJORN LEADS AT WEATHER-HIT SINGAPORE OPEN

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR

Singapore, Saturday: Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn continued to secure pole position after he held the third-round lead at nine-under-par through three holes before play was suspended due to darkness at the Barclays Singapore Open on Saturday.

With inclement weather forcing play to be abandoned on Friday, Bjorn, who is searching for his first victory in Asia, had to return in the morning to start his second round.

He quickly made up for lost time by signing for a four-under-par 67 to take the second round lead at the Sentosa Golf Club.

England’s Chris Wood got off to a par-birdie-par start in his opening three holes to take second place at eight-under through three holes while South Africa’s George Coetzee is in third place at seven-under after three holes.

First round leader Chapchai Nirat of Thailand birdied the second and fourth to join Italy’s Francesco Molinari on six under, while India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar and Anirban Lahiri are among the seven players that also features three-time Barclays Singapore Open winner Adam Scott bunched in tied-sixth at five-under.

“I’ve never really played well on this course before so it’s a nice surprise that I’m doing well. I’m playing some of the best golf at the moment and I’m feeling really confident with my game.  It’s going to be a long day tomorrow and I’m just going back to recharge and get ready for it,” said Lahiri, a two-time Asian Tour winner.

World number one Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, who had to return early in the morning to complete his remaining six holes of his second round, birdied the second hole before adding an eagle-three on the fourth hole.

He overcame a double-bogey six on the sixth hole with another birdie on the seventh hole before reaching the turn in 34 and a share of 13^th on four-under.

“I played well when we got back out there, got off to a good start then unfortunately made a mistake on the sixth but got one straight back on the seventh,” said McIlroy.

“So two under through nine was a pretty decent effort, but I probably need a few more birdies tomorrow morning to get myself within a few shots of the lead going into the fourth round,” added McIlroy.

A total of 73 players will resume their third round play on Sunday morning, 7.30am local time.

Weather permitting, the fourth and final round will now start before 10am with the same draw as the third round.

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