Gaurav Ghei came agonisingly close to his second win in as many starts on the Asian Tour but finished sole third in the Macau Open golf tournament on Sunday.

Ghei shot 65, 70, and 67 to aggregate 202 at the end of the third round, which was reduced to 54 holes, and failed to get into the play-off with Taipei's Lu Wen Teh, the eventual winner, and Australian Richard Moir.

Wen-teh carded 65, 71, 65 and Moir returned 66, 66, 69 to aggregate an identical 201 but the Taipei golfer won with a birdie on the third hole of a sudden-death play-off.

Moir picked two birdies each in last three holes while the Indian managed just one at the Macau Golf and Country Club.

Ghei was two ahead with seven holes to go when play resumed in the tournament, reduced to 54 holes because of rain interruptions over last three days.

Bidding for his second straight tournament victory after his triumph in the Pine Valle Beijing Open last month, he immediately dropped a bogey on the par five 12th hole when play resumed this morning.

Following unrelenting rain since yesterday, organisers reduced the Macau Open into a 54-hole affair and players eventually resumed their third and final rounds at 2.30pm.

"The waiting does disrupt a little. However much you try to get into a rhythm, you sit around for five or six hours in the morning, it's tough to get off straight away and specially tough with a difficult first shot of the day. But that's the way it is," said Ghei.