Derksen leads in rain-hit Mallorca

MALLORCA, Spain -- Dutchman Robert-Jan Derksen held a slender lead when bad light forced a premature end to the third round of the Mallorca Classic on Saturday.

Derksen, bidding for his third European Tour success, was ten-under--par through 15 holes, one ahead of playing partner and fellow halfway leader Jean-Francois Lucquin.

Lucquin's fellow Frenchman Gregory Bourdy was the clubhouse leader on nine-under after a storming six-under-par 64 while tournament favorite Sergio Garcia of Spain was five-under with one hole to play.

Garcia, who has won the event twice, has never finished outside of the top two as he tunes up for next week's prestigious Volvo Masters at Valderrama which is limited to the top 60 in the European Order of Merit.

In the final event of the regular season, the battle is also on for players trying to hold on to their Tour cards and England's Richard Finch did his cause no harm with a third round 66 to be two behind Bourdy in the clubhouse.

Finch, who is 124th in the money list, will need to finish in the top 20 to save his playing privileges.

A total of 18 players will have to complete their third rounds on Sunday after heavy rain seriously disrupted Friday's play leading to a backlog on Saturday.

Derksen, who has previously won the 2003 Dubai Desert Classic and the 2005 Madeira Island Open, carded three birdies and two bogeys in testing and windy conditions at the Pula Golf Club on the Balearic island. E-mail to a friend