American Jim Furyk turned a marathon day into a sprint up the BMW Championship leaderboard on Saturday, carding two sizzling rounds to grab a share of top spot with Colombian Camilo Villegas.
Forced to play 36 holes after the first round was washed out by rain on Thursday, Furyk rocketed into contention with a course-record eight-under 62 and carried the momentum into the afternoon with a tidy 66 to get to 12-under.
Despite his stellar play, Furyk was unable to shake off Villegas, who kept the pressure on with a four-under 66 and was working on a bogey-free third round going three-under through 13 holes when play was finally halted because of darkness.
"I'm a little tired," Furyk told reporters. "You know when you play 36 it's the last nine.
"Your concentration can wander off but I stayed focused out there.
"I'll be close, I gave myself a chance to win tomorrow."
Lurking two shots back of the leaders at 10-under was American Brian Gay, who quietly moved into contention with a second-round 67 and was also working on an error-free third round of four-under with three holes to play.
American Anthony Kim was one shot further adrift with one hole to complete.
It was a wild and gruelling day at the Bellerive Golf Club in St Louis, Missouri, the leaderboard changing with almost every shot as players went off first and 10th tees and two rounds were staged simultaneously.
With organizers scrambling to get back on schedule, Saturday's play got off to a false start and was halted shortly after it began and delayed 90 minutes by fog.
Once action got under way the crowd was treated to spectacular shot-making, including aces from Spain's Sergio Garcia and American Bart Bryant.
But it was Furyk who had the galleries buzzing.
Playing the back nine first, Furyk began the day five shots behind overnight leader Villegas and dropped another stroke with a bogey on the 12th.
It would be the only mistake the US Ryder Cup stalwart would make, Furyk marking his scorecard with an eagle and seven birdies, including five straight to close his round.
Furyk had little time to savor his performance heading right back out for the third round mixing six birdies with a pair of bogeys, including one at the last.
Vijay Singh, who has one hand on the FedEx Cup trophy and the US$10 million bonus that goes to the playoff champion after capturing the first two events of the series, has struggled in St Louis where he is yet to break par, laboring to a level-par 70 in the morning and one-over 71 in the afternoon.
In Thailand, veteran Felix Casas of the Philippines produced a vintage display on the final day of the US$50,000 B-ing Championship to win by two strokes from Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
Casas, 41, carded a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 at the Pattana Golf and Sports Resort, near Chonburi, to claim his first title on the Mercedes-Benz Tour.
Kiradech, 19, who had led the tournament since day one and started the final round with a three-shot lead, closed with a 71.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily September 8, 2008)
