Just over four hours of play were possible at the BMW International Open on Saturday due to heavy rain, setting the stage for a frantic fourth day. 

Play at the Golf Club Gut Laerchenhof in Pulheim was suspended at 11:59am local time before being called for the day at 4:00pm, keeping the leading trio of Raphael Jacquelin, Henrik Stenson and Kiradech Aphibarnrat off the course.

Aphibarnrat had been due out at 1:11pm, with Stenson and Jacquelin scheduled to tee off nine minutes later.

Sunday will see play restart at 7:30am, with the final group starting their round at 8:42am.

Players will go out in three-balls in the fourth round, which is scheduled to commence at 9:30am.

"We've been out to the third fairway a couple of hours ago and the entire fairway was unplayable," tournament director David Williams said. 

"And even if it stopped, it would probably be a couple of hours before it would be anything like playable and the forecast is for it not to stop.

"So we then decided we had to try and make some sort of solution for the good of the tournament.

"This is going to continue until at least 7.00pm tonight. Hopefully after that, it's going to start to peter out.

"It should be relatively dry then through the night and into tomorrow."

Of the players that did get on to the course, David Horsey and Yang Yong-eun were four under through 14 and 13 holes respectively, moving them each on to five under, six shots off the leaders.