The threat of lightning cut short Saturday's third round of the PGA Championship but not before Rory McIlroy had electrified the crowds and Tiger Woods slid backwards under a darkening sky.
Northern Irishman McIlroy, who had not contended for a major title since he won his first at last year's U.S. Open, dazzled with a stunning run of five birdies in his first eight holes to briefly lead by two shots at seven under par.
Though he bogeyed the ninth to end the day level at the top with Fijian Vijay Singh, the mop-haired 23-year-old was in a prime position to push on for victory when the play resumes today at Kiawah Island Golf Resort.
McIlroy, long regarded as heir apparent to Woods as the game's leading player, will have to play 27 gruelling holes today but he oozed confidence when he spoke to reporters after played was called off Saturday.
"I've put myself in a nice position going into tomorrow ... and that's all I really wanted to do," McIlroy said. "And it being 27 holes, I definitely don't mind. I don't mind if it takes a while to get done. I'm just in great position ... and that's all I can really ask for. I'm happy with where I am."
Woods, however, was far from happy with his own position after once again squandering a golden opportunity to tighten his grip on a 15th major title.
Two months ago at the U.S. Open in San Francisco, he shared the lead going into the third round but faded over the weekend with closing scores of 75 and 73.
For the first two days at Kiawah Island, he seemed to be the Tiger of old with his game in prime form as he opened with scores of 69 and 71 to share the 36-hole lead with Singh and Swede Carl Pettersson.
On Saturday, however, he missed a four-foot birdie putt at the par-four third before his round unravelled with a series of wayward drives and approach shots.
Woods hit a spectator with his drive at the fourth en route to a bogey five and also dropped shots at the fifth and seventh to slide five strokes off the pace set by McIlroy and Singh.
"I got off to a rough start today and couldn't get anything going," said Woods, who has not a major title since his playoff victory at the 2008 U.S. Open.
The one thing possibly in Woods's favour is that the leaderboard is tightly bunched and 17 players are within five shots of the lead, and the break overnight on Saturday may energize his game.
Trouble is never far away at Kiawah with its elevated greens that can be difficult to hold, despite the rain-softened conditions, given the likelihood of tricky crosswinds in today's final round.
