KIAWAH ISLAND-- Vijay Singh and Rory McIlroy took advantage of perfect conditions early Saturday. Tiger Woods slipped back.

Then rain and lightning invaded Kiawah Island's Ocean Course.

After the third round started with a docile morning, play was suspended until today as storms pummeled the area. The third round will resume at 7:45 a.m. The final round is scheduled to start at 11:44 a.m., with threesomes off of Nos. 1 and 10. The last group will tee off at 1:45 p.m.

McIlroy was climbing, a 4-under-par 32 on the front nine moving him into a tie with Singh for the lead at 6 under before play was suspended. Woods stumbled on the course's easiest stretch, with three bogeys through seven holes. He's 1 under and tied for 11th.

With the last group of Singh and Woods not teeing off until 3 p.m., the weather halted play for much of the field. The morning movers were the winners Saturday.

Bo Van Pelt fired a 5-under 67 and is tied for fifth. Steve Stricker also posted 67 and moved into a tie for seventh.

"I did what I could do," Van Pelt said. "I'm sure before I go to bed tonight I'll know kind of where I stand going into tomorrow and see what happens."

Easier pins, shorter setup and calmer breeze helped scoring Saturday, after Friday's blustery conditions produced the highest single-round scoring average since the tournament went to stroke play more than 50 years ago.

McIlroy made birdies at Nos. 1, 2, 5, 7 and 8 before dropping a shot on the ninth, his final hole of the day. His start included a par save on No. 3 after his drive stuck in a tree branch.

The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland will play 27 more holes for a chance at his second major title. Singh is seeking his third PGA Championship victory.

McIlroy said weather halting his momentum didn't bother him.

"The way I'm looking at it, I'm going into the final day of the final major of the season tied for the lead, so I can't ask for much more," McIlroy said. "I don't care if it's going to be 27 holes ... I'm just happy to be going in there in a good position.

Woods' three bogeys came through his final four holes. His trouble started with a flubbed chip on No. 4 and ended with a long par putt on the par-5 seventh that slid by the hole.

"I got off to a rough start today and couldn't get anything going," said Woods, who shared the 36-hole lead with Singh and Carl Pettersson. "I'll come back tomorrow morning and see what happens. There are a lot of holes left to play."

Kerry Haigh, managing director of championships for the PGA of America, said today's forecast looked promising and that he hoped for the final round to finish just before 7 p.m.

Rain has fallen each day at the Ocean Course, which has earned praise from tournament officials for its ability to drain quickly.

"Once (the rain) stops, it will drain," Haigh said. "And the greens will be soft as they have been all week, but it will still present a great challenge, and I think it will be an exciting final 28, 29 holes for the leaders."