Penge and Hillier share lead as darkness halts rain-delayed British Masters at the Belfry

England's Marco Penge and New Zealand's Daniel Hillier were joint leaders of the British Masters at the Belfry after completing five holes of round three before play was suspended by darkness at 19:57 BST; both were on 11 under.

The tournament remained behind schedule after storms affected the opening days and more than nine hours of play were lost on Thursday and Friday at the Warwickshire course. Weather forecasts called for a largely dry morning with heavy rain arriving through the afternoon and evening. Players affected by the delays were due to resume play the following morning.

Penge, 28, who has won three times on the European Tour, had already played 32 holes on Friday, carding an eagle, 10 birdies and one bogey. He reached 11 under after 14 holes before play was halted by fading light, then returned on Saturday morning to complete his second round on 10 under overall. That finish left him with a one-shot lead over Hillier at the halfway stage.

Penge offered a summary of his round, saying: "It was pretty typical of me to have a roller coaster sort of round of golf. Luckily this one was on the right side of par," said Penge. The pair began round three at around 18:30 BST and ended the day one shot clear of Northern Ireland's Tom McKibbin, who had played six holes of the third.

Belfast-born McKibbin, 23, who joined LIV Golf in January 2025, played all 18 holes of round two on day three, registering four birdies before a bogey-eagle-bogey finish. He stood one behind the leaders after his evening work on the second round and the partial third-round play.

Play was suspended by darkness at 19:57 BST and was scheduled to resume at 07:00 BST on Sunday; players were to remain in their round three pairings for the final round.