Marco Penge and Daniel Hillier set for 30-hole British Masters marathon finish

Events at The Belfry have been disrupted by weather all week but there were no delays on Saturday as the second round was completed and the final group reached the sixth in the third.

In that final group were Penge and Hillier at 11 under and they will both return at 7.00am on Sunday to face 30 holes of golf.

When the hooter sounded, they were both looking at birdie putts on the sixth green, with Penge 23 feet from the hole and Hillier ten feet closer.

Northern Ireland's Tom McKibbin was a shot back having completed the sixth, with Paraguayan Fabrizio Zanotti and and South African Shaun Norris at nine under playing the eighth and sixth respectively.

Home hero Penge and Kiwi Hillier had both completed their final four holes of round two early on Saturday morning, with Penge dropping a shot and Hillier getting home in level par.

That gave Penge - who has described his season so far as a "nightmare" after suffering problems with his ear, neck and nervous system which have led him to play a limited schedule and miss the U.S. Open - a one-shot lead after 36 holes.

Hillier, meanwhile, who is looking for a second wn at this event after his triumph in 2023, showed no signs of rust as he played his first event since The Open after a month back home in New Zealand.

When the duo got their third rounds under way at 6.31pm, Penge's one-shot lead was soon extended to two as he holed an 18-footer on the first but just as soon as it had grown, it had gone.

He went over the green and failed to get up and down on the next as Hillier put an approach to tap-in range and the 28-year-old was in front when he made a two-putt birdie on the par-five next as Penge saved par after finding the water.

An approach to tap-in range of his own had Penge back level on the fourth and both men parred the fifth before the hooter sounded as the light faded in the Midlands.

Norris was the remaining member of that group and he picked up a shot after a smart approach to the second and he will return to the rough at the sixth on Sunday morning.

McKibbin picked up two shots in round three, putting approaches inside ten feet on the second and fifth.

Zanotti, meanwhile, was three under courtesy of a long putt on the first, a two-putt birdie on the par-five third and an excellent approach on the fifth.

He will have 24 feet to save par on the eighth green when he resumes.

Finn Oliver Lindell was five under for his round to sit at eight under alongside Dane Jacob Skov Olesen and Spaniard Nacho Elvira.

Lindell had four holes to complete, Olesen was three under through seven and Elvira was level for his round having played six.