Chacarra leads by two as darkness halts India Championship third round

Eugenio Chacarra held a two-shot lead at the DP World India Championship when darkness brought the third round to a halt at Delhi Golf Club. According to BBC Sport, the Spaniard was 14 under par after 11 holes, with Angel Hidalgo and Joost Luiten closest at 12 under. The round remained unfinished at the weather-affected tournament.

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Chacarra had started the third round with a one-stroke advantage after consecutive rounds of 67 left him at 10 under. The 26-year-old then birdied four of his first seven holes to strengthen his position. His performance also carried significance for the season-long Race to Dubai: he is seeking to overtake Patrick Reed at the top of those rankings, BBC Sport reported.

The chasing group had completed differing numbers of holes when play stopped. Hidalgo had played 11 and Luiten 12, while Scott Jamieson, Adrian Meronk and Daniel Hillier were tied at 11 under. Jamieson and Meronk had each completed 11 holes, compared with Hillier's 14. Tom McKibbin was among four players at 10 under, four strokes behind Chacarra, with four holes of his round remaining.

Defending champion Tommy Fleetwood completed a four-under-par 68 to reach nine under, five shots off the lead. Robert MacIntyre stood at eight under with five holes still to play. Rory McIlroy, however, slipped to four under after 15 holes of an uneven third round, leaving him 10 strokes behind Chacarra at the suspension.

McIlroy had finished a bogey-free second-round 68 earlier on Saturday and began his next round with a birdie. He then dropped four shots across the four holes starting at the third. A birdie at the seventh was followed by bogeys at the ninth and 10th, before he holed a bunker shot for an eagle three at the 14th.

Reed was six under through 13 holes, two strokes ahead of McIlroy, who is third in the Race to Dubai behind Reed and Chacarra. Starting at the 10th, Reed recorded five birdies and a bogey before holing a 150-yard approach for an eagle two at the fourth. With the leading contenders still to complete their rounds, Chacarra's advantage was a provisional one rather than a finished 54-hole lead.