North Berwick (Scotland), July 12 (IANS) Indian-origin golfers Sudarshan Yellamaraju and Sahith Theegala lost ground on the leaderboard after battling testing conditions before persistent delays and fading light forced the suspension of the third round of the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick.

A lengthy delay caused by sea fog disrupted the day’s play, and with nearly two-and-a-half hours lost, a significant portion of the field was unable to complete the third round. Tournament officials confirmed play will resume at 7 a.m. local time on Sunday, with the final round set to begin no earlier than 10:15 a.m. in a one-tee, three-ball format.

Indo-Canadian Sudarshan Yellamaraju, who had put himself in contention with impressive opening rounds of 68 and 65, found scoring tougher on Saturday. Starting the day tied for sixth, he was level par through 13 holes, mixing two birdies with two bogeys before play was suspended. The unfinished round left him tied for 17th as he looks to climb back into contention on the final day.

Hero-supported Sahith Theegala endured a more difficult outing in the cold and damp conditions. After opening with rounds of 70 and 67, the Indian-American managed just one birdie — on the 14th hole — while carding five bogeys. With one hole left to complete when play was halted, Theegala dropped from tied-38th to tied-64th on the provisional leaderboard.

At the top, England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and American Michael Thorbjornsen shared the lead at 11-under when play was called. Fitzpatrick briefly moved to 12-under after consecutive birdies before surrendering a shot on his eighth hole, while Thorbjornsen remained bogey-free through 13 holes, picking up five birdies, including on each of his final two completed holes.

The leaderboard remained tightly contested, with just three strokes separating the top 15 players as the event headed towards its conclusion ahead of next week’s final men’s Major of the season.

American Johnny Keefer completed his round at 10-under to become the clubhouse leader. He was joined on the same total by compatriots Wyndham Clark, Chris Gotterup and Kevin Roy, Australia’s Min Woo Lee and England’s Jordan Smith, all of whom still had holes remaining when play was suspended.

Rory McIlroy’s challenge lost momentum after a frustrating day. Beginning the third round in a share of the lead, the Northern Irishman slipped back after dropping three shots in his opening eight holes, a run that included a missed tap-in for par, an errant tee shot on a par three and a costly mistake at the par-five seventh. A long par putt on his final completed hole before the suspension ensured he remained within five shots of the leaders heading into Sunday’s resumption.

–IANS

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