Akshay Bhatia closed the gap on leader Daniel Berger at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, from which Rory McIlroy was forced to withdraw on Saturday.
The third round had to be completed on Sunday as play at Bay Hill in Orlando was suspended on Saturday because of darkness.
American Berger was two shots clear of Bhatia at that point but his compatriot will head into the final round only one adrift of the leaders, who remains on 13 under par.
Before the third round, McIlroy was nine shots back in a share of ninth place but he suffered spasms in his lower back before starting his round.
The Northern Ireland player’s exit was unveiled by the PGA Tour about 30 minutes before his tee time.
In a later statement, the five-time major winner mentioned: “While warming up in the gym this morning, I felt a small twinge in my back.
“As I started hitting balls on the range before the round, it worsened and developed into muscle spasms in my lower back. Unfortunately, I’m not able to continue and have to withdraw.”
McIlroy had moved to four under on Friday with a round of 68, having shot level par on Thursday.
Having birdied four of the first seven holes on the back nine, McIlroy had mentioned he was “really pleased”, adding he had played a “controlled, patient round of golf”.
The 36-year-old, who was competing in his third PGA Tour event of the season, is due to defend his titles at the Players Championship at Sawgrass next week and the Masters at Augusta from 9-12 April.
A play-off win at the latter against Justin Rose last year saw McIlroy become the sixth man to complete a career Grand Slam, ending an 11-year drought at the sport’s four biggest competitions.
