Rory McIlroy opened up a two-shot lead midway through the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation before play was suspended due to the threat of lightning.
The home favourite came into the weekend one shot behind Masters Tournament champion Danny Willett and Marc Warren but as he reached the turn in a steady one under par 34, the overnight leaders fell back in typically Irish conditions.
A calm morning in County Kildare gave way to a wild afternoon with gusting winds and sharp showers making scoring difficult for the later starters, with Willett turning in 37 and Warren dropping five shots off the lead.
The changeable conditions then brought storms to the surrounding area and play was suspended at 3.27pm with McIlroy on the tenth green at eight under and Willett back on the tee.
Play was scheduled to restart at 5.45pm.
McIlroy had spoken all week of his desire to at last lift a trophy on home soil and this week represents a change in fortune after missing the cut the past three seasons at this event.
Rafa Cabrera Bello was at four under playing the 18th, alongside Sébastien Gros, Tyrrell Hatton and Russell Knox, with 15 players within five shots of the lead.
Warren found the trees off the tee on the first to drop a shot and fall out of the lead and Willett repeated the trick on the second to make it a three-way tie at seven under.
McIlroy then took advantage of the par five fourth to get his nose in front before Willett joined him at eight under with a birdie of his own on the same hole.
The Englishman found some trouble down the right on the sixth and did well to get up and down to drop just a single shot but then found the water off the seventh tee to make it two bogeys in a row.
Cabrera-Bello had been the form man on the course as he picked up birdies on the fourth, fifth, sixth, ninth and 11th but he too fell victim to the water with a double-bogey on the 17th.
Gros and Knox were one under for the day through 14 and 15 holes respectively, with Hatton level par through 11.
French duo Grégory Bourdy and Romain Wattel were the clubhouse leaders at three under, with Warren and Matthew Southgate - who turned in 37 playing alongside McIlroy - also in that group.
