Rain cuts short 3rd round play

Tiger Woods playfully slapped a ball at Shigeki Maruyama's feet and planted himself next to leader Briny Baird on the driving range.

That was as close as the eight-time major champion got to Baird on Saturday in the rain-suspended third round of the Buick Classic.

Winless since late March, Woods had a bogey and six pars in seven holes before play was suspended, leaving him six strokes behind Baird, who is 11 under through six holes on the saturated Westchester Country Club course.

"It's going to be a long day tomorrow," Woods said. "Hopefully, I can play a little better and improve my chances."

Play was suspended after a two-hour delay, the second of the round. The round began on schedule, but was delayed because of lightning before the leaders teed off.

"We got lucky for two days, but when it started raining today we knew it wouldn't take much to put us out of business," Slugger White, the PGA Tour's tournament director, said as rain pelted the interview tent.

With more rain expected Sunday on the course soaked by 8 inches of rain in the last three weeks, the event could finish on a Monday for the second time in three years.

"We've got a good forecast for Monday," White said. "We can go to Tuesday, but we can't go any further than Tuesday. Let's hope we don't get that far."

Baird, the son of Champions Tour player Butch Baird, is trying to win for the first time in four seasons on the PGA Tour. He birdied the par-5 fifth hole to reach 11 under, putting him two strokes ahead of playing partner Skip Kendall.

"I went to sleep last night with a one-shot lead and I'm going to sleep tonight with a two-shot lead," said Baird, who opened with a career-best 63 and shot a 69 on Friday. "If we keep doing this, no one will be able to catch me."

Woods, four strokes back entering the day after rounds of 67 and 69, parred the first three holes, had a three-putt bogey on No. 4 and added three more pars.

"The greens are soft and it's tough to make putts," he said. "It's tough to hit it close more than anything, and I didn't hit that close today. Hopefully, I can do a little better job tomorrow."

Joey Sindelar and Tom Gillis were 8 under, with Sindelar completing seven holes alongside Woods, and Gillis playing eight. Fred Couples and John Rollins followed at 7 under, both through eight holes.

"I don't know how we can play tomorrow the way the golf course is now," Couples said.

Sergio Garcia, the 2001 winner in a Monday finish, was 6 under in an eight-player group that included Retief Goosen and two-time champion Ernie Els. Goosen, a stroke behind Baird after the second round, bogeyed No. 2 and had a double-bogey on No. 3.

Jim Furyk, trying to join Hale Irwin (1990) and Els (1997) as the only players to follow a U.S. Open victory with a win at Westchester, was 3 under after 11 holes.

The players will remain in their third-round threesomes for the final round, with play scheduled to begin off both the first and 10th tees.

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