Rory McIlroy was slipping out of contention as Matt Fitzpatrick took a share of the lead when play was suspended due to fog in the third round of the Genesis Scottish Open.
Starting the day among the overnight leaders, McIlroy slipped five shots off the pace after eight holes in difficult conditions at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick before play was halted at 7.55pm (BST).
Tournament organisers announced the third round will recommence at 7am on Sunday morning and the final round will not be played before 10.15am on Sunday, with players set to tee off from one tee.
McIlroy made bogeys on holes three, five and seven before his round was cut short on the ninth tee box
McIlroy, who had held a share of the lead following his first and second rounds, started his third round in poor fashion, making three bogeys on holes three, five and seven before he walked back into the clubhouse at six-under par.
It was an uncharacteristic start from the Northern Irishman, who has been in red-hot form this week, dubbing his clinical opening round of 65 the ‘complete performance’.
But on Saturday, McIlroy struggled with multiple aspects of his game, notably chunking a tee-shot on the par-three fifth hole 125 yards to the fringes of the front of the green.
On the seventh hole, McIlroy cut a driver into the rough, before hacking a recovery shot out of a bush and onto the fairway nine yards in front of himself, back into the rough.
It was an uncharacteristic performance from McIlroy who had started the week in flying fashion
The 37-year-old ended his day scrambling for par on the eighth hole, after missing his approach shot left of the green.
As McIlroy struggled, his European Ryder Cup team-mate Matt Fitzpatrick climbed his way to take a share of the lead alongside American Michael Thorbjornsen at 11-under par.
Thorbjornsen rose 12 places up the leaderboard on Saturday, after he posted a score of five under through 13 holes, before his round was cut short.
Matt Fitzpatrick took a share of the co-lead at 11-under par
Asked what he thought of the murky fog that had engulfed The Renaissance Club on Saturday, Thorbjornsen told Sky Sports: “I might have expected to see a little bit just in the mornings, but I didn’t know that fog was this much in play throughout the whole day.
“Yeah, this is crazy. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Thorbjornsen said towards the end of the day he couldn’t see his ball in the air when he hit off the tee.
“Towards the end of the round, over the last three holes, I hit a couple of drivers up into the air and lost sight of them before they reached the apex. You just have to trust yourself that you’ve hit good shots.”
“It was tough. But for the most part it was okay.”
Michael Thorbjornsen joined Fitzpatrick to take a share of the lead
Behind them, a chasing pack of players follows at 10-under par, including American Johnny Keefer, the third alternate for next week’s Open Championship, whose low third round score of 64 propelled him 22 places up the leaderboard.
“I think I had the mindset this week that anything can change,” Keefer said. “I knew that it was going to be a little colder, so I could kind of prep a little bit. Yeah, the wind has gotten up. It’s switched directions three times in the week that we’ve been here.”
Fellow Americans Kevin Roy, Wyndham Clark (through 15 holes), and Chris Gotterup (through 10 holes) joined Keefer at 10-under par, while Australian Min Woo Lee (through eight holes) and England’s Jordan Smith (through seven holes) also sit one shot back off the leaders.
“It’s more disappointing that we didn’t get to finish tonight,” Clark, who had gone four under through 15 holes before being called off the course, said.
Wyndham Clark said he was disappointed to have to walk off the course prematurely
“Who knows what they will do. It’s just always nice playing twosomes on Sunday.
“It makes for a shorter night. But whatever. It is what it is.”
A big finish for Roy on Sunday could see him snag one of the last spots available at the Open Championship, with the top three players this week, not already exempt for the final major of the season at Royal Birkdale, gaining a spot in the field.
Elsewhere, a former Scottish Open champion, Robert MacIntyre, made two birdies on his front nine to move to two shots back of the leaders, while Tom Kim, who had shared the 36-hole lead with Smith and McIlroy, made par on all seven of his opening holes to keep his score at nine-under par.
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