Scott Hend will return to complete the final five holes of his third round with a two-shot lead after a weather-affected Friday at the Omega European Masters.
The Australian entered round three at 13-under with a one-shot lead, and despite dropping two shots in his first 13 holes on a tough day when two hours and 24 minutes were lost to fog, he extended his advantage at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.
Playing partner Darren Fichardt, England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick and Paraguayan Fabrizio Zanotti were his nearest challengers, with Lucas Bjerregaard, Dean Burmester and Marcus Fraser in the clubhouse at eight-under.
Fitzpatrick had completed 15 holes of his round, with Zanotti on the 14th fairway and Fichardt alongside Hend back on the tee when play was suspended due to fading light at 19:25pm local time.
Swede Alexander Björk, Thai Thongchai Jaidee and South African Richard Sterne were all at eight-under with holes to complete when play resumes at 8:00am on Sunday morning.
Round four will then begin between 9:55am and 11:55am in three-balls.
Hend had already extended his lead to three shots when play was suspended at 14:36pm, and with Fichardt missing a par putt straight after the 17:00pm resumption, he led by four.
Zanotti had reined him in to share the lead at 12-under at the turn, but with all the players in the final two groups level-par or worse for their rounds so far, the chasing pack may fancy their chances on Sunday.
‘It was all calm when we started, but after we went back, it was just so cold out there,’ said Hend. ‘The greens got a little bit rough, so I was just trying to be patient. Everyone was dropping shots.
‘Some nice holes to finish with when we come back tomorrow, so we will see how we will be positioned for the final round.
‘I will just come back here tomorrow and play like how I have played all week. Hopefully it’s good enough. We will see what happens.’
Hend was defeated by an Alex Noren birdie on the first extra hole here last season, en route to finishing a career-high 27th in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex.
He muscled his ball out of the rough on the first to set up a 12-foot birdie, with Fichardt three-putting for a first bogey of the week while Zanotti hit a smart approach to birdie the second before play was stopped.
Fichardt made it a three-bogey start after the resumption and when Zanotti rolled in a long birdie putt on the fourth, he was alone in second at 11-under.
A clumsy bunker shot on the fourth then saw Hend drop a first shot of the day, and when Zanotti drove the green on the seventh to get down in two with Hend again finding bunker trouble on the eighth, the lead was shared.
Fitzpatrick had started with bogeys on the first and third, but he got back level with birdies on the sixth and seventh and when he put his approach on the ninth to six feet, he was just three off the lead.
Zanotti then got in trouble off the tee at the tenth and when he could not get up and down from the side of the green, a double-bogey meant Hend was back in front by two.
That did not last long, as an excellent tee-shot by Zanotti at the par-three 11th helped cut the gap to one, and with Hend missing the green on the same hole, they shared the lead at 11-under.
Fichardt gave back the shot he had picked up on the seventh on the 11th, but Zanotti found the hazard on the 12th and then played a poor chip to surrender a second double-bogey in three holes.
Hend then three-putted the 12th for another bogey, but bounced back with an excellent tee-shot to seven feet on the 13th to get to 11-under.
Australian Fraser recorded an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys in his 66, while Dane Bjerregaard had seven birdies and four bogeys in a 67.
Burmester had three bogeys and a single blemish in a 68, with South African Sterne and Swede Björk left with three holes to complete and Jaidee playing the 14th alongside Zanotti.
Credit: European Tour
