Patrick Reed faces a nervous wait after a punishing day at the DP World India Championship.

The 2018 Masters champion was only able to play four holes on Thursday before darkness descended after a five-hour thunderstorm delay, and he struggled upon his return on Friday morning, finishing his opening round at three over par.

The 36-year-old has held the Race to Dubai lead for the majority of the season, but he has Rory McIlroy and Eugenio Chacarra breathing down his neck as the DP World Tour playoffs loom large.

Reed mounted a fightback after a spot of brunch, and he was six-under-par for his first 11 holes of his second loop

But after starting on the back nine, he paid the price for a tee shot pulled into the gnarly left rough on the par-four fourth.

He had no control over his second shot, and it leaked wide right into the bushes, forcing him to take a penalty drop. He finished with a triple-bogey seven to slide back to even par.

The American cut a frustrated figure on the way in as he burned the edge with birdie opportunities to secure a Saturday tee time. He finished the day at even par for the tournament, sitting on the cut line, but half the field has yet to complete their second rounds.

Data Golf's model gives a 52 percent chance of the cut landing at even par, and a 48 percent chance it will move to one under.

Reed will have to endure a long wait on Saturday morning to learn if he is still in the tournament. The third round will not begin until 12:30 p.m. local time at the earliest, and he will be powerless as he awaits clarity.

To compound his frustration, Chacarra and McIlroy have both made strong starts and are in contention. The Spaniard completed five holes of his second round before play was suspended for darkness and is at seven under, one shot off the lead shared by Angel Hidalgo, Adrian Meronk, Joost Luiten and Thomas Detry.

McIlroy completed four holes, and he eagled the first of them to leap to four under for the tournament. He is tied for 17th place and has a 17-foot birdie putt on the fifth when he resumes his round on Saturday.

The DP World Tour's regular season concludes next week with the Genesis Championship in Cheonan, South Korea. The two-event playoffs follow next month in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Reed's lead has been cut to less than 200 points over Chacarra, who is projected to hit the top of the rankings as things stand. McIlroy is projected to remain in third.