China’s Liang Wenchong emerged from a marathon day as clubhouse leader of the SMBC Singapore Open on Saturday.
He broke through the fatigue barrier by carding a four-under-par 67 for a total of eight under 205 before the third round of the SMBC Singapore Open was suspended due to darkness.
Liang played 31 holes at the Serapong Course at Sentosa Golf Club after inclement weather during the first two rounds had led to lengthy delays at the US$1 million event.
Halfway leader Song Younghan of Korea mixed two birdies against two bogeys to be on nine-under through 13 holes while world number one Jordan Spieth, followed by a massive gallery, remained in contention at six-under with two holes left to play.
A total of 15 players will return at 7.30am to complete their third round with the final round scheduled to commence at 8.20am with no re-draw.
Liang, the 2007 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion who has two top-10 finishes to his credit in the Singapore Open at this venue, returned early in the morning to complete 13 holes from his second round where he signed for a flawless 67.
After a quick lunch break, the Chinese was back on the tee for the third round.
He charged out of the blocks with three birdies in his opening four holes but dropped a shot on the fifth.
Liang then struggled to keep his focus but was eventually rewarded with two more birdies in his last three holes.
“I played 31 holes today and to be honest, I was feeling tired towards the end of the round. I’m happy I managed to birdie 16 and 18 coming in as those birdies gave me that much-needed confidence boost for tomorrow,” said Liang.
“I started off really well with three birdies in first four holes but dropped a bogey on the fifth. After that, I couldn’t find those birdie opportunities and was glad they finally came again on 16 and 18. I’ll try my best tomorrow,” added Liang.
Song, who has finished second three times on the Japan Golf Tour, hopes he can get the monkey off his back on Sunday.
“It did not help me that much not having played this morning as I had to wait about a long time for my tee off,” said the 24 year old world number 204, who completed his second round on Friday.
“I have had many second place finishes in Japan and Korea but I do not think that will affect me (mentally) tomorrow. It would be great to win here and that’s my aim.”
First round leader Keith Horne of South Africa and Japan’s Shintaro Kobayashi are two strokes adrift of playing partner Song with five holes remaining of their third rounds.
