Unlike the rest, Woods struggles before rain halts play

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

DORAL, Fla. -- The Blue Monster was hardly a beast on Saturday.

When several waves of dangerous and wet weather halted the third round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship at 1:15 p.m., all but one of the top 18 players on the leaderboard stood under par -- many of them significantly.

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Unlike most, Tiger Woods didn't get a whole lot out of his third round before it was halted due to rain.

And the one who wasn't? Well, believe it or not, it was Tiger Woods.

Yes, the same man who is bidding for his sixth straight PGA TOUR victory -- and fourth straight on Doral's signature course -- was even par through 12 holes. He had slipped three strokes off the pace being set by Geoff Ogilvy and two behind Adam Scott.

Meanwhile, Vijay Singh and Tim Clark had jumped into a tie with Woods at 11 under. Singh was 8 under through 16 holes and will return Sunday morning to attempt a 7-footer for birdie at No. 17. Clark, who was 7 under, had yet to tee off on the 15th hole.

Was this the Aussie's day, someone wondered?

"If it was our day, I wish it hadn't stopped," the wary Scott said.

Indeed. The always dangerous Woods now gets some extra time to work out the putting problems that started when he missed a 5-footer for birdie on the first hole. That snapped a streak of 18 consecutive birdies or eagles for Woods on the 529-yard par 5 dating back to 1998.

His putter refused to cooperate on the second hole, either, as he three-putted for bogey from 21 feet. Woods did manage a 3-footer for birdie on No. 7 but he had taken a whopping total of 20 putts when play was suspended with seven holes remaining.

"I need to hit the ball a touch better but more importantly make some putts -- get my speed right," Woods said. "To three-putt the first two holes right out of the gate (is) never a good thing."

Ogilvy agreed. "It was just one of those stretches that was probably frustrating the hell out of him," the 2006 U.S. Open champion said. "He was playing fine. He just didn't make anything."

Weather permitting, the third round will resume at 8:30 a.m. and the final 18 is slated to begin at 11:35. However, the rain that left several greens under water and bunkers looking like small ponds is expected to continue throughout the evening.

An estimated 3 inches had fallen when play was called for the day at 4:23 p.m. Saturday.

"It's going to be a long day, and we're all going to be in the same boat," Woods said. "I need to get back in there and under par for the round and get myself ready for the afternoon session."

Not that playing 25 holes in one day should be a problem for anyone -- particularly not the three in the final group.

"I think we're all in pretty good shape," Scott said. "I've seen Geoff and Tiger in the gym, so we should be all right."

Scott was making the most of his round on Saturday, making eagle on the first hole and playing his first five in 4 under. The start was in sharp contrast to the bogeys on his last two holes Friday afternoon that had left Scott three strokes behind his friend Ogilvy.

"It was a disappointing finish, but it could have been worse," Scott said. "I thought if I could get off to a fast start, I could kind of wipe that ... out and get right back in the hunt."

That's exactly what happened. Ogilvy fought his swing a bit early on, but began to find a comfort zone and regained sole possession of the lead with birdies on Nos. 7 and 9. Although he had some momentum, Ogilvy, like Woods, could probably profit from the break.

"I was scoring okay, but I wasn't hitting the ball very well off the tee actually the first 11 holes, so it will be nice to work that out and drive it a little better tomorrow morning," Ogilvy explained.

The 61 players who will return to complete the third round on Sunday morning must continue to play the ball down despite conditions that are sure to be muddy. Tournament director Slugger White said playing the final 18 holes under lift, clean and place conditions "is in the back of our minds."

"There will be some mud going on, but it's the same for everybody," Ogilvy said, "It's usually a pretty quick-draining course so it should be a good day."

"It's going to be a totally different golf course," Scott said. "It was in such perfect condition, it's disappointing that it's going to rain so much and make it more target golf."

When Ogilvy, Scott and Woods return to Doral on Sunday morning, they'll be hitting their tee shots on the 12th hole, a 603-yard par 5 that will likely play even longer in the soggy conditions. There is a perfect opportunity, though, to get under par quickly and set the tone for the lengthy day.

"I'm right there, only three back," said Woods, who was seven strokes behind the leaders after 36 holes last week and went on to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.

"Still right there, a lot of holes to be played, and hopefully I can get it going and get hot for the rest of the day."

And Scott and Ogilvy won't have to do any scoreboard watching to see how the world No. 1 is playing, either.

"It's a nice pairing," Scott said. "I mean, I want to play with Tiger. It means I'm probably playing pretty good. When you're playing good, you've just got to believe in yourself that you can keep doing it."