Chris Paisley opened up a one-shot lead during the second round of the Italian Open before torrential rain and the threat of lightning led to an early end to the day’s play.
Almost five hours was lost on Thursday at Golf Club Milano due to similar weather, with many of the early starters facing 36 holes on day two with only a short break between their first and second rounds.
Paisley was one under par after four holes when he came off the course on Thursday evening and he returned to post a bogey-free 66 and sit just two shots behind overnight leader Rikard Karlberg.
He continued his blemish-free run in the afternoon, making five birdies in 13 holes to get to ten under and open up a one-shot lead over Masters Tournament champion Danny Willett.
Play was stopped at 1536 with a torrential downpour on the course and while attempts were made to get the players back on course, the threat of lightning meant they would not return.
The action was set to resume at 0730 on Saturday morning with the second wave of players, including Karlberg, all yet to begin their second rounds.
“We’ve just got to wait and see what happens through the night, if we had a dry night and some reasonable weather over the weekend, then we could still get four rounds in and finish on time on Sunday night,” said Tournament Director David Williams.
“But that’s only if everything runs smoothly, which it hasn’t done so far.
“We have to tried to be optimistic and get four rounds in, because that’s still the prime objective. But we also have to be realistic, because if we get some more rain that’s going to prove very difficult.”
Clubhouse leader Richard Green was one of just four players to complete their second rounds and he was at eight under alongside Chris Hanson and Alexander Levy, a shot clear of Andy Sullivan and Karlberg.
Paisley birdied the first and third and picked up further shots on the tenth and 12th before he put his approach to two feet on the 13th to become the first man this week to get to double figures.
“It feels great,” he said. “It hasn’t been the best season for me so far, so it’s nice to be playing some good golf, finally.
“Going bogey-free 31 holes is obviously a huge positive, because I’ve been making too many silly mistakes this season. I scrambled really well in the first round and made a few important par saves, then today I started striking the ball well and hit some really good iron shots.
“So I was a bit gutted when they called us in because I was hitting my stride.
“It’s the same for everyone. You’ve just got to do your best to stay focused and keep your energy levels up, which isn’t always easy.”
Willett, finalising his preparations for the Ryder Cup in a fortnight’s time, birdied the 14th and 17th to turn in 33 and added further gains on the first and third.
Levy also turned in 33 after starting on the back nine but a hat-trick of birdies from the first catapulted him to eight under with two holes left to complete.
Australian Green had turned in 35 before three birdies in five holes carried him up the leaderboard and he added another on the penultimate hole.
Hanson made four birdies and a bogey on the front nine to also sit at eight under with six to play.
Sullivan is another man preparing for the trip to Minnesota and he made five birdies and two bogeys in his first 14 holes.
There was then a large group at six under including Matthew Fitzpatrick, Martin Kaymer and local favourite Francesco Molinari.
From europeantour.com
