Marco Penge held a one-shot lead as the second round of the weather-affected Husqvarna British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo was completed on Saturday.
Over nine hours of play was lost on days one and two at a stormy Belfry and the rain continued to fall in the Midlands, making for difficult conditions on day three.
Home hero Penge was 11 under though 14 holes when the hooter sounded on Friday night and while he dropped a shot on the last upon the resumption in a 65, he still led the way heading into the third round.
Dan Hillier, the 2023 champion at this event, was his nearest challenger after playing his final four holes in level par in the morning, with Spaniard Nacho Elvira, Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin and South African Shaun Norris a shot furher back at eight under.
Penge was a three-time winner last season while also finishing sixth at this event, as he pushed Rory McIlroy all the way in the Race to Dubai and earned dual membership with the PGA TOUR.
But on Wednesday, he described his 2026 season thus far as a "nightmare", after suffering problems with his ear, neck and nervous system which have led him to play a limited schedule and miss the U.S. Open.
He has showed no signs of any discomfort this week, however, playing 32 holes on Friday, carding an eagle, ten birdies and a single bogey.
And after a ragged tee shot on the ninth saw him add to his bogey tally on Saturday morning, he was left to reflect on a "roller coaster" round.
"It was pretty typical of me to have a roller coaster sort of round of golf. Luckily this one was on the right side of par," he said.
"I think especially on the holes I stopped on, like six, seven, eight, nine, probably the hardest four holes on the golf course. There's a lot of danger about.
"Obviously when you're starting your round, you don't have much evidence of what you've got for the day until we kind of find out.
"I hit a good tee shot down six, which is the main one where you can make the score, so I got it out of the way pretty quick. Didn't swing it great coming in, though."
Playing in the group behind. Hillier had birdied the 12th, 15th and 16th and then added three gains in four holes from the second on Friday, leaving himself an 18-footer for birdie overnight.
He could not make that putt and parred his way home for a 66.
"Pretty happy with that overall," he said. "It was a long day yesterday. I wanted to keep my focus and composure and actually played some of my best golf towards the end there. So that was nice.
"Maybe half asleep this morning. Pretty scrappy stuff but got away with it."
Norris birdied the sixth in his remaining six holes, while McKibbin and Elvira both played all 18 holes of round two on day three.
Elvira battled to a 71 containing a double, two bogeys and four birdies, while McKibbin carded a 68, registering four birdies before a bogey-eagle-bogey finish.
England's Matthew Jordan - a runner-up in his past two starts - completed a 71 in the morning to sit at seven under, one ahead of 2022 champion Thorbjørn Olesen, Scot Ewen Ferguson and Paraguayan Fabrizio Zanotti.
The Dane holed over 180 feet of putts in a 67, with Zanotti carding a 69 and Ferguson signing for a 71.
