Johor Bahru, Malaysia: Jyoti Randhawa, desperately in need of a good finish to bolster his ranking and confidence, was four-under through five holes in the third round of the rain-hit Iskandar Johor Open which was reduced to a 54-hole affair here on Saturday.
Randhawa, who shot 69 and 70 in the first two rounds, rose with four birdies in five holes in the third round when play was halted due to bad weather.
From three-under at 49th after the second round, he rose to 16th at seven-under for the tournament. He was six behind the leader Daniel Chopra, who played just one hole in the third round and the whole day on Saturday.
Only two other Indians made the cut. Shiv Kapur, one-under through eight in third round and five-under for the tournament, was 29th and Rahil Gangjee, even through five in third and also even for the tournament, was 51st.
With the cut coming at two-under 140, prominent Indians missing the cut included Jeev Milkha Singh (73-68) by one shot, Anirban Lahiri (71-71), Gaurav Ghei (73-70), Himmat Rai (75-69) and Sujjan Singh (73-71).
Chopra will defend a two-shot advantage over 17 holes after organisers reduced the tournament.
Chopra, a two-time PGA Tour winner, was 13-under after playing the first hole before play was suspended at 3pm local time due to heavy downpour at the USD 2 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
Title holder Padraig Harrington of Ireland, James Morrison of England and Frenchman Gregory Bourdy are on -11 after one hole at the Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club.
With none of the golfers finishing their round, a total of 72 players will return at 7.20am on Sunday to complete the third and final round.
Chopra, who won his first professional title at the 1993 Johor Open, predicts an exciting finale.
"It will make it more exciting. It is going to be a bit more like a shootout because there are a number of people still in it with a chance to have a good round. It will be fun," said Chopra, who grew up in India.
"Obviously, I would have loved to play. I did some work early in the morning and I felt good. I hit a couple of good shots starting of the round and then the rain came. It kills a bit of momentum but we can't control the weather. I was mentally prepared for the weather delays," he added.
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