Mother Nature interrupting Senior PGA final round

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – England’s Richard Bland and Australia's Greg Chalmers and Richard Green — three golfers waiting for their career-defining moments — will have to wait a little bit longer as Mother Nature has decided to play through the final holes of the 84th KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores.

A crack of thunder and then rain at 2:20 p.m. Eastern time suspended the final round, which was moved up by tournament officials Saturday night in anticipation of bad weather.

The 51-year-old Bland, who started the final round at nine-under and a stroke behind both the 50-year-old Chalmers and 54-year-old Ernie Els of South Africa, had just eagled the 514-yard 15th hole with a six-foot putt to go to 17-under for tournament. Bland, a member of the LIV Tour who is playing this week on a special exemption from the PGA of America, had a birdie putt at the 419-yard 16th hole awaiting him when play resumed.

Round 3 leaderboard: Senior PGA championship at Harbor Shores Golf Club in Benton Harbor

Round 3: Els and Chalmers lead Bland and DiMarco by a stroke heading into final round of Senior PGA

Chalmers, who does not have full-time membership on the PGA Champions Tour, had a one-stroke lead at 16-under going to the 15th tee but then fell one stroke behind after Bland's eagle putt dropped. Then at 16 after hitting his approach long and left of the green in heavy rough, Chalmers whiffed his third shot, his wedge going under the ball. He put his fourth shot on the green before the horn sounded, and Chalmers will be putting to save bogey and stay within sight of Bland when play resumes.

The 6-foot-4 Green, a left-handed Australian who shared the first-round lead with Bland on Thursday, got himself back into the hunt with a pair of eagles — his fourth and fifth of the week — on his incoming nine. Starting the day two strokes behind Chalmers and Els, Green made an eagle 2 at the 423-yard 12th hole when he sank his approach from the fairway and then made a putt for an eagle 3 at the 514-yard 15th. Green was 14-under with one hole to play.

Els, who is still looking for his first senior major title after winning a pair of U.S. Opens and two Open Championships during his PGA Tour days, was at 13-under playing the 16th hole with Chalmers and Bland.

Tournament officials anticipate returning to play at approximatley 3:40 p.m. ET, with nine golfers left to finish up play.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship being delayed in Benton Harbor