Roberto Castro finished just six holes on Sunday at a soggy Sanderson Farms Championship.
The way things were going, that was not such a bad thing.
Castro clung to a one-stroke lead at the Country Club of Jackson after playing the first six holes in the suspended third round in two-over.
He was to play 30 holes yesterday in the hunt for his first win on the PGA Tour in more than 100 career starts and was to face a 30-foot putt for birdie on the 7th hole when play resumed.
Play was suspended on Sunday because of darkness and was to resume yesterday morning, with the final round following immediately. Castro said he was prepared for the grind.
“Just grab your lunch at the turn and keep going,” the 30-year-old Castro said. “If you get on a good run, just ride it as long as you can.”
It has been a soggy, stop-start tournament that has required plenty of patience. Several players had their second rounds stretch over three days from Friday to Sunday as rain swept through the area.
Castro was at 13-under. He started play on Sunday with a four-stroke lead, but quickly fell back toward the pack with bogeys on holes three and four. They were his first two bogeys of the tournament.
“I just hit two poor shots and paid for both of them,” Castro said.
Former tournament champion D.J. Trahan and Michael Thompson were a shot back. Boo Weekley, Patrick Rodgers and Jhonattan Vegas were among seven players two shots back.
The 42-year-old Weekley, a three-time winner on tour, said he was not concerned about a long final day.
“You just get after it, do the best you can, chase it around out there and hope you come out a winner,” Weekley said.
The 23-year-old Rodgers shot a 64 in the second round to jump into contention. He was one-under through seven holes in the third round.
“I was a little up and down today. I was not my best, but I feel good with the way I am striking it,” Rodgers said.
Castro had his best round on the PGA Tour on Thursday, firing a 10-under 62 to take a two-stroke lead. He pushed that lead to four strokes after shooting a 67 on Friday.
However, he did not play on Saturday because of the rain and struggled almost immediately on Sunday. He said course conditions had changed because of a big drop in temperature and a little more wind.
Still, he was encouraged by his par on the 6th hole just before darkness ended the round.
“A lot of golf to play tomorrow,” Castro said.
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