Thailand's Chapchai Nirat fired a spectacular eagle on the par-four 11th to pull two shots clear of the field in the third round of the Singapore Open on Saturday before fading light forced the players off the course. After the first two rounds of the $5-million event were disrupted by poor weather, the tournament enjoyed a rain-free day and looks set for an exciting Sunday finish with a packed leaderboard hoping to chase down the burly Thai. Chapchai's usual aggressive approach paid dividends around the demanding par-71 Serapong Course, his five-under score after 12 holes enabling him to leapfrog the two players ahead of him at the end of the second round and finish the day on nine under par. Lurking two strokes adrift of the leader on seven under are charging Dane Thomas Bjorn, co-overnight leader Simon Dyson of Briton and local hope Lam Chih Bing, who was buoyed up by the large galleries cheering him on. Ireland's Pardraig Harrington is the leader in the clubhouse on five under, the three-time major winner surging into contention with a five-under 66, along with a group of four other players including Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson. Teenager Rory McIlroy and Indian veteran Jeev Milkha Singh are the other players standing four shots off the lead with South Korea's Charlie Wi and South Africa's Charl Schwartzel a further stroke back. Forty-five players will complete their third rounds early on Sunday before the final round can commence immediately afterwards. Stanford vaults past Sorenstam In Mexico, American Angela Stanford shot a six-under 66 to vault past first-round co-leader and former World No. 1 Anika Sorenstam after the second round of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational on Friday. Stanford was part of an eight-way tie at the top of a crowded leaderboard on Thursday that included England's Karen Stupples, who is competing here with a broken toe on her right foot. Stanford, who won the Bell Micro LPGA Classic in September, seized control Friday with four birdies over the first nine holes. She added three more birdies on the back nine to move to 10-under heading into Saturday's third round of the one million-dollar event. Her only major blemish of the day came on the 12th hole where she posted a bogey. Taiwan's Yani Tseng is two shots back in second after firing her second consecutive 68 on Friday. South Korea's Meena Lee (69) was in third while Stupples (71) was lying fourth. Stupples had to play through the pain of a broken middle toe on her right foot. She suffered the injury on Wednesday while rushing to get a cup of coffee. Her steady second round included birdies on the third and 18th holes.
