Print

Mail

wiki links

DiMarco has Tiger on his tail as dusk cuts into Round 3

Tiger Woods walks down the second faiway during the third round of the Mastersat the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia on Saturday. PHOTO: AFP

Chris DiMarco held a four-stroke lead over hard-charging Tiger Woods at the Masters when darkness halted play at Augusta National on Saturday.

Playing brilliantly, DiMarco bogeyed only once in his first 45 holes of the weather-delayed tournament, and earned the right to head the field into the final day for the second straight year.

After a pair of 5-under-par 67s in the first two rounds, DiMarco blocked out raucous cheers for Woods by lifting his score to 13 under halfway through the third round, shooting 33 on the front nine before play was stopped.

Woods brought the gallery to its feet, storming into contention after his opening 74 when he finished off a 66 in the second round -- the best score of the tournament so far. He made a great start in the third round with 31 on the front nine to be at 9 under.

After a first round filled with bad breaks, Woods got one in his favor at the end of the day. The three-time champion's ball was caked with mud when the siren sounded, so he marked his position in the 10th fairway, allowing him to start on Sunday with a clean ball.

Denmark's Thomas Bjorn was at 8 under par, and no one else was close.

Vijay Singh and a pair of Australians, Rod Pampling and Mark Hensby, were at 4 under. Defending champion Phil Mickelson was another shot behind -- but 10 shots behind DiMarco.

The Masters usually doesn't begin until the back nine on Sunday afternoon. This time, it will start on Sunday morning. The third round was to resume at 1200 GMT.

"I kind of wish we could play some more, but that's OK," DiMarco said.

Right when Woods started to make his move, DiMarco answered with a slick 10-footer for birdie on the seventh, and another 10-foot birdie on the eighth. He played smartly, taking chances only when they were there.

"If Chris keeps playing the way he is, he's going to be very difficult to catch," Bjorn said.

Bjorn, however, is a friend of Woods and has seen some of his best golf.

"Tiger is Tiger," Bjorn said. "When he gets on these kind of runs, you never know what's going to happen."
This story has been viewed 1960 times.