THE MASTERS : A Wet Down-Under Look : Golf: Australian Ian Baker-Finch leads in the clubhouse and countryman Craig Parry leads on the course as rain plays havoc with the third round at Augusta.

When play stopped Saturday, there was a leader in the clubhouse and a leader on the course--and they were both Australian.

A 2-hour 53-minute delay prompted by a thunderstorm with lightning disrupted the Masters golf tournament.

Ian Baker-Finch managed to finish by running to the 18th tee to get his round in, which he barely did.

He shot a four under-par 68, 207 for 54 holes, nine under, and has the luxury of sleeping in today before he begins his final round in the afternoon.

His countryman Craig Parry was 11-under par after 14 holes, when play was halted by darkness at about 7:50 p.m. EDT.

Parry was stranded along with Ian Woosnam, his playing partner, Saturday. Fred Couples and Raymond Floyd didn’t get to finish their rounds. Neither did Ted Schulz and D.A. Weibring.

Woosnam, who was the co-leader with Parry after 36 holes, didn’t finish the 14th hole. He marked his ball on the green, leaving himself a nine-foot birdie putt.

It was a frustrating day for Woosnam, the defending Masters champion from Wales. He shared the lead with Parry after three holes, 10-under par when play was suspended. Then, when play resumed, his game disintegrated. He got double bogeys at the fourth and fifth holes and was six-under par when darkness halted his round.

Couples and Floyd were on the 15th tee when play was stopped. They were both nine-under par. However, Floyd was the leader after 11 holes at 11 under. But he surrendered the lead to Parry with bogeys at the 12th and 14th holes.

Schulz’s round ended after the 16th hole. He was seven-under at the time.

Nick Price managed to finish his round, shooting a 67 (208) and is one-stroke behind Baker-Finch and one ahead of Bruce Lietzke and Jeff Sluman, who also finished.

“Being able to finish might be as much as a three-stroke advantage,” Baker-Finch said. He reasoned that he will get a good night’s sleep, while the players who didn’t finish will have to complete their third rounds starting at 8:15 a.m. today.

When apprised of Baker-Finch’s remarks, Parry smiled and said: “He would say that, wouldn’t he?”

When play was halted the first time, Baker-Finch was on the seventh hole, 105 yards from the green where he said he would have to cut a wedge between trees.

“During the delay I practiced slicing wedges,” he said.

And he got a break when play resumed. His ball was in casual water and he got an advantageous drop. He then went on to birdie the hole.

“Everything went right for me, to get a birdie at seven and not to have to tee off early,” Baker-Finch said.

He said he was in such a hurry to finish his round that his ball was in the air on the 18th tee, when Sluman was leaving the 17th green.

An Australian has never won the Masters, which began in 1934, although Greg Norman has come close.

“We’ll win it someday, if not tomorrow, then in the near future,” Baker-Finch said.

Parry was as shaky as Woosnam after play resumed. He double bogeyed the fourth hole to go to eight-under par for the tournament.

However, unlike Woosnam, he recovered. He birdied the eighth, 11th and 13th holes.

“It was difficult to play after the delay,” Parry said. “The ball was not going as far because of the wet grass, and it was hard to get the ball high.

“After the fourth hole, I just told myself to be patient. There were still a lot of holes where I could make some birdies. I was just trying to claw my way back in it.”

Even though he has to finish his third round early today, Parry isn’t dismayed.

Asked to assess his chances, he said: “Pretty good at the moment.”

The weather forecast isn’t encouraging for the Masters today. More showers are predicted, starting in the early afternoon.

Only twice in the history of the tournament, 1973 and 1983, has inclement weather forced the tournament to be concluded on Monday.

Golf Notes

Bruce Lietzke is in contention after shooting a 68 Saturday. “I just don’t see me winning this tournament,” he said. “My game just isn’t all there, no matter what my score says.” . . . A sophisticated type of radar scope warned Masters officials of an approaching storm. There were lightning strikes within 50 miles of the Augusta National Golf Club.

Fred Couples was tied with Raymond Floyd at 10-under par through eight holes. Then, Couples had a much longer drive on the ninth hole than Floyd. However, his second shot to the uphill green didn’t hold and came back to the fairway. Floyd managed to birdie the hole after a remarkable second shot and Couples got a bogey, a two-shot swing.

* MIKE DOWNEY

Raymond Floyd, who lost his home to a fire, continues to play some of the best golf of his career at age 49. C5