Kiwi Ryan Fox may have caught a break at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, after rain halted play early in the second round at Sun City's Gary Player Country Club.
Starting the day with a one-stroke lead, Fox and nearest rival Luke Donald both birdied the second hole, before the Kiwi gave his back with a bogey on the third. The pair were locked at eight under par, when the siren sounded to interrupt play.
Lightning and heavy rain left the course waterlogged, with the second round eventually suspended until Saturday night (NZ time), immediately followed by the third round.
Fox, 35, currently sits second on the European Tour rankings, but victory in South Africa would propel him above world No.1 Rory McIlroy to the top, with the season-ending DP World Tour Championship scheduled for Dubai next week.
Meanwhile, fellow Kiwi Steven Alker is two rounds away from hoisting the Charles Schwab Cup.
Alker, 51, has shot a seven-under 64 in the second round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship to take a one-shot edge over Irishman Padraig Harrington at Phoenix.
Alker and Harrington entered the season finale ranked first and second on the over-50 tour. Alker held a commanding 617,980-point lead, meaning Harrington needs not only to win, but for Alker to drop down the leaderboard at Phoenix Country Club.
Alker made seven birdies to get to 13-under 129. He is the only player in the field who's bogey-free through 36 holes.
"I know what I've got to do, the numbers are all there," Alker said. "It's kind of black and white.
"I just try and put myself in position to win a golf tournament, that's big for me. [Harrington] played well today, so I've got to keep hammering those birdies out."
Three-time Major winner Harrington also shot a 64 to reach 12 under, birdying four of his first five holes, and adding four birdies and a single bogey on the back nine.
They'll be in the final pairing together for the third round.
"Look, he's playing very well," Harrington said of his opponent. "I played with him every week in the playoffs at this stage and he's not backing down.
"You couldn't begrudge him where he is at the moment, you couldn't begrudge him winning this outright, but I'll try and do that the best I can."
Newshub/Reuters
