The Alfred Dunhill Championship is heading to a Monday finish after the threat of lightning and heavy rain meant the final group could complete just seven holes on day four.
Play had been brought forward due to the threat of bad weather, with home favourites Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen sharing a five-shot lead at 15 under.
Both men managed to pick up a shot in the seven holes played either side of a near five-hour delay to get to 16 under but with the rain pouring down and more lightning in the area, play was ended at 4.42pm local time.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout was the third member of the final group and he made three birdies to trim the lead to three shots heading into Monday at Leopard Creek Country Club.
German Matti Schmid was three under through eight holes to sit at 11 under alongside England's Andy Sullivan, who was one under for his round having also completed eight holes.
Round four is set to restart at 9.00am local time on Monday.
In the action on Sunday, Oosthuizen spun a glorious pitch to tap-in range at the second to hit the front on his own but Schwartzel hit back from 12 feet at the third, with Oosthuizen doing well to save par after a poor tee-shot.
Bezuidenhout had cut the gap to four with a smart up-and-down from the sand at the second and an approach to ten feet at the third but with the final group on the fifth green, play was halted for four hours and 39 minutes due to lightning, with heavy rain altering the conditions during the stoppage.
That was no issue for Bezuidenhout, who trimmed lead to three shots from 18 feet upon the resumption, with Sullivan playing a lovely pitch on the driveable par-four sixth to get to 12 under after an earlier birdie from five feet on the third.
Oosthuizen then put his pitch on the sixth to six feet to edge one ahead but found the water off the seventh tee, doing well to drop a single shot as the rain began to fall heavily again, and play was suspended for a final time due to the threat of lightning 42 minutes after the restart.
Sullivan dropped a shot on the eighth before the hooter sounded, while Schmid made birdies on the second, fifth and seventh in his eight holes.
England's Marco Penge was at ten under after eight holes, a shot clear of Spaniard Alejandro del Rey, who had played ten.
Home duo Thriston Lawrence and Jayden Schaper and Dutchman Darius van Driel were eight shots off the lead.
