PATTAYA: Rain continued to play havoc with the Honda LPGA Thailand Open, where Amy Yang of South Korea opened up a four-stroke lead before third-round play was suspended due to darkness on Saturday evening.
The 2015 champion had four birdies and an eagle through 13 holes and was at 17 under par when darkness fell with 10 groups still on the course.
Trailing Yang at 13 under par was compatriot So Yeon Ryu, who had completed her round, while Jody Ewart Shadoff of England and Sei Young Kim of Korea were two strokes back at 11 under.
World No.2 Ariya Jutanugarn and sister Moriya were at 10 under along with world No.3 Shanshan Feng of China and Chella Choi of Korea. Ariya, who trailed Yang by one shot at the start of the round, had slipped back to even par after 13 holes, while Moriya was 4 under after 17 holes.
"My shots were good. You know, I've been hitting well all week,” Yang said. “Tomorrow again I'll finish the third round. I'll just try to do it just one shot at a time, hole by hole.”
The third round will resume at 7am Sunday, with the fourth round scheduled to begin at 9.38am if the weather cooperates. The final group is scheduled to tee off at 11.50am.
The players were on the course at 7am on Saturday to complete the second round, which had been suspended because of heavy rain on Friday at the Siam Country Club, Pattaya Old Course.
Hoping to squeeze in as much golf as possible in the face of iffy weather, organisers had half the field begin their rounds on the front nine holes while the rest teed off from the 10th.
Yang and Ariya were on the eighth hole when third-round play was suspended shortly after 3pm Saturday because of storms in the area. Play resumed more than an hour later, at which point it was clear than not everyone would be able to finish before the evening.
Among the other Thai players, veteran Pornanong Phatlum finished her third round at 3 under for the day and for the tournament. Pannarat Thanyapolboonyaras was at 9 over after 15 holes. Thirteen-year-old Thai amateur Atthaya Thitikul fell back to 3 over after 15 holes. Fellow amateur Pajaree Anannarukarn, 17, slumped to 10 over, seven shots ahead of rookie pro Porani Chutichai, who trailed the field.
Ariya, who rocketed to stardom with five LPGA victories last year including the British Open, is bidding to become the first local champion of the US$1.6-million Honda event, now in its 12th year.