Golf

As thick fog briefly lifts, Woods takes advantage

By wire services
Published January 23, 2005

SAN DIEGO - From dawn to dusk, Tiger Woods managed to play just six holes Saturday in the fog-delayed Buick Invitational. That was enough to change his fortunes.

He waited 21/2 hours to play one hole in the morning, a two-putt birdie from the fringe to complete a second-round 63 and get within three shots of the lead. Then he waited six hours to start the third round, birdied his first two holes and caught Tom Lehman when the Ryder Cup captain faltered.

When darkness finally halted play at Torrey Pines, only one thing was certain.

"It's been a long day," Woods said. "And we've got another long one tomorrow."

And there's a long way to go.

Woods turned bogey into an unlikely birdie by holing a bunker shot on the par-3 11th. Lehman struggled from the onset, missing a 6-foot birdie on the first hole, then having to make 8-footers on the next two holes, one for par, the other for bogey.

Woods found the 14th fairway with his tee shot, and decided to finish the hole after the horn sounded to stop play.

Lehman never teed off and will return this morning - assuming everyone can see.

Peter Lonard, who completed his 65 early Saturday to join Woods at 12 under through 36 holes, decided to play the 14th and made a mess of it, taking double to slip back to 11 under, along with Luke Donald.

Ernie Els was 2 under through five holes and begging rules officials to halt play, saying he couldn't see. He was at 10 under, along with Kevin Sutherland and Dudley Hart.

And don't forget Vijay Singh.

Quietly marching along in the group behind Woods - the leaders teed off on the back nine for television - the 41-year-old Fijian birdied three of his last four holes and was at 8 under.

The third round was expected to resume at 7:30 this morning.

PGA tournament director Mark Russell held out hope that the Buick Invitational could avoid its first Monday finish, although everything has to fall together perfectly. No more than a one-hour delay can be tolerated. And players will not take a break after they finish the third round, heading straight to the next tee.

EUROPEAN PGA: South Africa's Tim Clark shot 4-under 68 for a four-way share of the lead after the third round of the South African Open in Durban. He shot 9-under 207 to tie countrymen Tjaart van der Walt (70), Hendrik Buhrmann (70) and Titch Moore (72). Clark, who won the tournament when it was last played on the Durban course in 2002, had a bogey-free round with four birdies.

IONE D. JONES/DOHERTY AMATEUR: Taylor Leon beat Morgan Pressel 2-up at Coral Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale. Leon, 17, is the fifth teenager in the past six years to capture the title. Pressel, 16, lost her third final in four years. Pressel of Boca Raton was 1-down on the par-5 18th. Both players hit their second shot to the fringe just off the green. Pressel's chip left her a tap-in for birdie, but Leon's found the hole, 45 feet away, for eagle.

In the senior division, Karen Ferree, 54, defended her title, ousting Carol Semple Thompson, 55, 4 and 3.

[Last modified January 23, 2005, 00:15:19]