Davies leads into extra day

England’s Laura Davies held on to a three-shot lead when darkness forced an overnight suspension of today’s final round of the AAMI Women’s Australian Open at Concord Golf Club in Sydney.

After a four-and-a-half-hour break for heavy rain, Davies teed off late in the afternoon with a two-shot lead over Australia’s Rachel Teske.

She dropped a shot at the fourth, but restored her advantage with back-to-back birdies at the ninth and 10th and was one under for the day and four under for the championship when play was halted.

At one stage, there was the prospect the championship would be cut to 54 holes, and Davies said: “I thought they made the wrong decision to ask us to play.

“A Monday finish is a real anti-climax – there will be no interest. But we just have to do as we are told.”

England’s Trish Johnson moved into a tie for fifth when she covered the 14 holes in an impressive two under par.

When play was suspended, she was seven strokes behind Davies in a tie for fifth on three over.

Johanna Head was the other Briton in the top ten. She completed a fine 69 for six-over 294.