Rain suspended second-round play Friday at the Volvo Masters and threatens to turn a season-long, four-player chase for the Order of Merit title into a 36-hole shootout.

Only three players in the 57-man field were able to complete their rounds before torrential rain stopped play, with Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark leading Sergio Garcia of Spain by three shots at 6 under.

Neither player had started when play was suspended. The round is expected to resume Saturday at 8:30 a.m. (0730 GMT).

But weather forecasts expect showers to continue through Sunday, and tournament organizers said they would cut the event in half rather than play a full third round on Monday.

Out of the Order of Merit contenders - leader Robert Karlsson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Miguel Angel Jimenez - Harrington and Jimenez are the worst placed.

Harrington was level-par to be six shots behind Westwood and two back from Karlsson when his round was stopped on the 14th. Jimenez had a disastrous start to be 7 over after four holes - 15 shots behind Kjeldsen.

Jimenez, who must win to have any chance of clinching the European money title, had already raised his concerns to officials.

"He thought that everyone should be playing in the same conditions at the same time and thought that play should never have started this morning," European Tour director of operations David Garland said. "I would say that the golf course was playable this morning."

Officials said Valderrama's fast-draining course allowed the field to start Friday, but that the damage was done when two weather fronts hung over the Spanish coast rather than moving past as expected.

"Conditions were brutal," Garland said. "This is a very, very difficult course as we've seen over the years, and it's not designed to be played in a sort of 25 miles-per-hour wind with lashing rain. It was a very brutal day."

Harrington can win his second Order of Merit title in three years with a victory as long as Karlsson finishes no higher than third. A runner-up placing would only be enough for Harrington if Karlsson is sixth or worse.

Westwood, who is at 1 under, needs a victory with Karlsson outside the top three to take his second Order of Merit title and first in eight years.

Karlsson, who can become the first Swede to win the Harry Vardon trophy, dropped a shot at the fourth hole to be 3 over before play was stopped.

Defending champion Justin Rose pulled out of the event after shooting a 10-over 81 for a two-day total of 19-over 161. The Englishman, last year's Order of Merit winner, flew to South Africa to be with his family following the death of his grandfather.

Follow live scores of the Volvo Masters on the website of the European Tour