Kjeldsen, Garcia lead at Valderrama

Nov 1, 2008 - 6:59 PM SOTOGRANDE, Spain (Ticker) -- Soren Kjeldsen and Sergio Garcia are tied atop the leaderboard at the rain-plagued Volvo Masters.

Most of the field at Valderrama completed their rain-shortened second round earlier Saturday, ahead of the third round, which also had to be suspended due to relentless showers.

Kjeldsen completed six holes Saturday and is at 5-under-par along with Garcia, who got through seven holes. The third round will resume Sunday morning with the final 18 holes to follow.

Lee Westwood, who is chasing his second Order of Merit title was even through six holes and is alone in third, just a shot off the lead.

Kjeldsen held a two-stroke lead after the completion of the second round, but dropped a shot on his first hole of the day. Garcia, who won last week's Castello Masters, was 1-under for the third round thanks to a birdie at the par-5 fourth.

Westwood needs to win this season-ending tournament to have a shot at overtaking Robert Karlsson for the Order of Merit.

He had a brilliant finish to his second round earlier Saturday, which enhanced his chances of accomplishing that goal.

The man who ended Colin Montgomerie's seven-year reign as number one in 2000, Westwood played the last 11 holes at 6-under to climb into a tie for second with Garcia and fellow Englishman Anthony Wall, who is now fourth at 3-under.

If Westwood wins the tournament, Karlsson will have to place no less than third to retain the top spot on the money list.

The Swede certainly has given Westwood an opening as a second successive 73 in the second round left him tied for 22nd. Things did not improve in the third round as he is 1-over through 11 holes and tied for 28th at 5-over for the tournament.

Padraig Harrington and Miguel Angel Jimenez also had a chance of securing the Harry Vardon Trophy entering this event, but Harrington is 2-over through 47 holes and Jimenez is no longer a factor at 8-over midway through the third round.