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Italian duo Costantino Rocca and Massimo Florioli shared a one-shot lead in the North West of Ireland Open after a third round disrupted by high winds at Ballyliffin's links Saturday.

Rocca, seeking a second win in the event in four years, and Florioli, trying to make his European Tour breakthrough and become the third Italian to win the tournament in four years, finished on one-under-par after 11 holes as the light faded.

They are a stroke better than Sweden's Adam Mednick, who has played 12 holes, two shots ahead of Frenchman Jean-Francois Lucquin and tournament favorite Andrew Coltart of Scotland.

Play began at 7:30 a.m. but was called to a halt at 9 a.m. with winds gusting at over 40 mph. After a resumption at 10:30 a.m., the gusts caused another suspension at 1:40 p.m. that lasted until 4:45 p.m., with the leaders still to start.

Rocca's overnight one-shot lead over Florioli increased when his younger compatriot dropped two shots in the first seven holes, while the former Ryder Cup man and 1995 British Open Champion ran up seven pars.

Mednick joined the fray by birdying two of the first four holes but dropped back with bogeys around the turn.

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Rocca's double-bogey at the eighth, when he found a fairway bunker and took three more shots to reach the green, followed by a bogey just before the hooter went to bring in the players in twilight, threw the tournament wide open.

"It was very tough out there, extremely tough," said 45-year-old Rocca, looking to turn over two years in the doldrums since winning in Galway.

"Hopefully the wind will ease tomorrow, it was so difficult. You stand over the ball and the wind blows you on the tee, and then the putting is so difficult."

Only 15 of the 58 players who finished their rounds before play ended scored under 80, with Sweden's Kalle Brink the top scorer, carding 91, and the 2001 British Amateur Champion Michael Hoey running up a 10 on his way to an 83.

This was the last of Hoey's seven invitations and he is now resigned to going to tour school.

The Northern Irishman was flabbergasted to see the yellow 'safe' flag and the red 'danger' flag go up at the eighth, showing that his ball could either be lost or in play, but proving that the wind had confused even the ball-spotters.

Hoey did not find his ball.

Despite the disruptions, the tournament will still run to the normal 72 holes, with the fourth round going straight ahead after the third is completed Sunday.

The highest world-ranked player in the field, 126th-placed Andrew Oldcorn of Scotland, was one of several players who criticized the insistence on playing out the four rounds.

"I'm just here because I need competition," said last year's Volvo PGA Champion. "But they are playing with guys' careers, purely for the sake of completing 72 holes.

The tournament director, Spaniard Jose-Maria Zamora, defended his decision to play between the gusts, saying: "Conditions were no worse than the Saturday of the Open and I wanted to get in as much play as possible."

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