The third round of the Alstom Open de France finally got underway at 12.30 local time after a storm delay of more than four hours.
Play was due to begin at 8.10am, but that was put back to 10.45am and over an hour before that it was announced that there was no chance of starting then.
It was just a question of waiting for the weather to improve, but it had already been decided to split the field so that one half would tee off on the front nine and the other half from the tenth hole.
Nearly two and a half hours was lost on Friday afternoon and it was not until almost 10pm that the second round was completed.
Spaniard Alejandro Cañizares, the son of former Ryder Cup hero José Maria, was ten under par and one ahead of defending champion Martin Kaymer.
