Jeev Milkha Singh [Images] improved his position by one and Jyoti Randhawa made a big move to try and edge into top ten, even as Ernie Els continued his imperious march in the USD 1.5 million BMW [Images] Asian Open.

But all will have to wait till Monday for the finish as 24 players are yet to complete their final round.

Jeev had played just eight holes in the final round and was one under for it, and moved to tied fifth at 10-under, while Jyoti Randhawa was two-under for his 14 holes and moved from, tied 20th to tied 11th.

Rahil Gangjee finished his final round at two-over 74 with two birdies and four bogeys. His total of three-over 291 gave him a tied 65th place.

The man in focus at Pudong Golf Club was Els, who in his six holes had birdied three times to go to 22-under and was sitting on another five-foot birdie attempt when darkness halted play for the day.

Els leads playing partner Wakefield of England [Images] by eight shots, with Dane Thomas Bjorn, who is one hole ahead, two shots back in third place at 12-under. Frenchman Jean-Francois Lucquin is another stroke adrift in outright fourth, with Asian Tour duo Eddie Lee and Jeev Milkha Singh sharing fifth at 10-under.

Jeev played six straight pars before birdying the seventh and then parred the eighth when play was stopped. He said, "I look forward to coming back tomorrow to try and get closer to the top."

Randhawa started with a birdie but then dropped shots on third and fourth. He parred rest of the way on front nine. Then he struck form on back nine, birdying 10th, 11th and 13th and parred 14th. With two-under he moved to seven-under total and tied 11th, which sure is a fine rise after being on the cut line after first two days.

In the morning, officials were forced to halt proceedings at 8.55 am due to the threat of lightning in the area, with play not restarting until 12.10 pm. The delay pushed the leaders back to a 4.30 pm tee time, which meant play could not be completed today and will see the first Monday finish in Asian Tour history. Play is to resume at 7.00 am on Monday morning with 24 players to complete their final rounds.

Els virtually secured his win when he made birdies at the first two holes and nearest challengers Wakefield and Bjorn recorded early bogeys. So he is all set to add the BMW Asian Open to earlier 2005 triumphs in Dubai and at the joint-sanctioned Qatar Masters.

Local favourite Zhang Lian-wei is tied ninth at eight-under with seven holes to go. Defending BMW Asian Open champion Miguel Angel Jimenez recorded at 73 and lies in a tie for 31st.