World No. 1 Rory McIlroy battled a virus to card a one under par 70 to be officially five strokes from the lead at the close of the storm-affected Barclays Singapore Open.

McIlroy joined half the field in returning to the course on the ninth hole at 7.30am this morning to resume their round that had been delayed at 3.15pm Thursday due to storms.

The 23-year old then played the 10 holes in one under par.

“It went okay with the weather we have here at this time of the year, you have to expect some disruptions,” said McIlroy.

“But hopefully we got the good side of the drawer, and can get 18 holes in this afternoon and hopefully have a bit of a rest between the second and third rounds. I actually played pretty well from tee to green, just didn’t really hole any putts, which was a bit frustrating.

“So that was the story of the round really.

“The golf course is still quite soft, whereas four years ago the course was a lot firmer, especially the greens. The greens are very receptive, so there are definitely some low scores to be had if you can get your putter going.

“The only problem is that I am struggling a bit with a cold or a sinus infection at the moment, so I’m not feeling 100 per cent.

“The energy levels are fine, and maybe it’s a good thing that the temperature and humidity is so high, because I might be able to sweat it out.”

“But if I can hit it as well as I did this morning and yesterday and then hole a few putts, I’ll be pretty happy.”

Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat overhauled Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn and England’s Simon Khan, who had ended their rounds near lunch and well prior the storm, with a six under par 65 with Bjorn and Khan signing for 66s.

It is the second occasioin the 29-year old Nirat has led the Barclays Singapore Open after the first round as he shot a 67 to lead in 2005 on route to finishing 11th.

Nirat is also no stranger to winning on the European Tour in capturing the 2007 TCL Classic.