GOLF Baird inches closer to win in rain-delayed PGA event

Tiger Woods is six strokes back in the Buick Classic.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
HARRISON, N.Y. -- 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 -- 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 for the day at about 3 p.m. after a two-hour delay, the second of the round. The round began on schedule at 8:10 a.m., but was delayed for 1 hour, 16 minutes 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 today 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.
LPGA Rochester
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Rachel Teske shot an even-par 72 Saturday and extended her lead to four strokes after three rounds of the Rochester LPGA.
"I was kind of surprised -- I thought somebody would be making a move but the conditions were pretty tough," the 31-year-old Australian said. "I guess any time you shoot even-par and are still leading, it's a good day."
Teske, looking for her second straight win, opened with two sub-70 rounds and was at 7-under 209 after a round that was played in a drizzle early at the tree-lined Locust Hill course.
Stephanie Louden, Brandie Burton and South Korea's Se Ri Pak and Soo-Yun Kang were tied for second at 213. Meg Mallon, the 2000 champion, was in a four-way tie at 214.
Champions Tour
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Ed Dougherty sank two birdie putts of more than 40 feet late in the round Saturday to take the lead and tie the Farmers Charity Classic record for lowest 36-hole score.
Dougherty carded a second consecutive 6-under-par 66 in the $1.5 million Champions Tour event at Egypt Valley Country Club, and held a one-stroke lead over Hubert Green. The leader also matched the event's two-round record of 132, set by Bruce Crampton in 1992 and matched by Jim Colbert a year later.