PGA Championship 2012: Play Suspended Due To Poor Weather

It’s going to be a long Sunday for the field at the PGA Championship. Due to a nasty storm that rolled in midway through Saturday’s third round, play has been suspended until Sunday. They’re done for the day, and plenty of players are still out on the course.

At the moment, the final pairing is through just seven holes, meaning Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh will have to finish up 11 holes on Sunday morning before even starting their final rounds. Play is expected to resume around 7:45 in the morning, with the final round set to begin around 11:30 a.m. It’s unknown whether split tees or threesomes will be used in an effort to get the tournament finished by Sunday evening.

The third round of the 2012 PGA Championship is about midway through its third round on Saturday, although there is a weather delay in South Carolina. The current leaders remain Rory McIlroy and Vijay Singh, both at 7-under.

McIlroy had gained a one-stroke lead over Singh, but faltered for the first time on Saturday with a bogey on the par-4 ninth hole. Singh is 2-under for the day through seven holes and McIlroy is at 4-under through nine, virtually eliminating his rough 2-over round on Friday.

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Unlike Friday, there are plenty of players under par on Saturday morning at Kiawah’s Ocean Course. The wind has calmed a bit, slowing from the treacherous 35 MPH gusts on Friday to 15 MPH breezes on Saturday. The PGA of America also set up some more benign pin placements, approximately 12 paces from the edge. As a result, we’re seeing many fewer implosions and a couple low numbers on the front side.

Englishman Justin Rose has set the pace, playing the first 10 holes in 5-under par. Rose went out with an impressive 32 to pull within four shots of the lead. He then promptly moved into the red with a birdie on No. 10, and is currently the only player on the course under par for the championship. He has been one of the top players in the world over the past three seasons, and he was a trendy pick to capture his first major this week at Kiawah.

The morning wave is out on The Ocean Course for the third round of the 2012 PGA Championship, and conditions appear to be much more favorable than they were during a brutal second round. The PGA also put the pins 12 paces from the edge after the dramatically high scores in the wind on Friday.

While it’s still early, only six players are over par as the field tackles the front nine at Pete Dye’s seaside classic. Luke Donald briefly held the low mark of the day, moving to 3-under in the third round. But a bogey at No. 11 dropped him back to a host of players who are at 2-under on Saturday. He’s still eight shots back of the leaders at 4-over for the championship.

The 2012 PGA Championship continues Saturday with third-round action. Tiger Woods finds himself atop the leaderboard heading into the weekend, tied for the lead at 4-under with Vijay Singh and Carl Pettersson.

Woods shot a 1-under 69 on Friday, one of only four rounds under par on the day. Singh shot the lowest round, vaulting into a share of the lead with a 3-under 67. Woods and Singh aren’t the only notable players near the top of the leaderboard. Ian Poulter and Rory McIlroy are also near the lead. Poulter is in fourth place at 3-under while McIlroy is tied for fifth place at 2-under.

Tiger Woods is on top -- well, tied -- after 36 holes on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island. With three tournament victories on the year, can he finally earn a major title?

Woods leads the PGA Tour money list and FedEx Cup point standings, but those figures seem somewhat empty when you remember -- as if anybody could allow you to forget -- that Woods hasn’t won a major since before his hiatus from golf in 2008. He’s tied with Vijay Singh, who used to be one of the top players on the tour, but hasn’t won any event (let alone a major) since 2008, and Carl Pettersson. With half of the tournament left to go, their position on top of the leaderboard doesn’t guarantee much, but seeing Woods and Singh up top is certainly a throwback.