Chacarra stretches India lead to two before darkness halts third round

Eugenio Chacarra stretched his lead to two shots before darkness stopped the third round of the DP World India Championship in Delhi on Saturday.

The Spaniard stood at 14 under par after 11 holes of his third round at Delhi Golf Club. Play was halted for bad light with the field still to finish, leaving Chacarra clear at the top BBC.

He had started the day one ahead at 10 under after back-to-back rounds of 67. He then made a fast start, with birdies — a hole finished in one shot under par — on four of his opening seven holes to pull away.

Angel Hidalgo and Joost Luiten were his nearest challengers at 12 under when play was called off. Tom McKibbin sat four shots back, while defending champion Tommy Fleetwood was five off the lead after a four-under 68.

Rory McIlroy lost ground. He finished a bogey-free second-round 68 early on Saturday, a round with no dropped shots, but slipped to 10 shots behind in the third. He was 4 under after 15 holes, despite holing out from a bunker for an eagle three — two under par — at the 14th.

There is more than a trophy at stake. Chacarra began the week second in the season-long Race to Dubai standings and is bidding to replace leader Patrick Reed at the top. McIlroy sat third in that race.

Reed built his lead with early-season victories in Dubai and Qatar. He gave the crowd a moment of his own in the third round, holing a 150-yard approach for an eagle two at the fourth after starting his round at the 10th.

It has been a stop-start week. Lightning interrupted the opening round, when Niklas Nørgaard led and McIlroy opened with a two-under score. The second round was then suspended for bad light just before 6 p.m. local time.

What makes this stand out is the timing. Chacarra has played the freshest, cleanest golf of the week, and he still has seven holes of his third round to finish before the final push. A two-shot cushion is useful. It is not safe.