Rain Halts Senior PGA

Rain disrupted the Senior PGA Championship for the fifth consecutive year since its relocation from Florida, resulting in a scramble atop the leaderboard Saturday at Ligonier, Pa.

With Dana Quigley, Mike Reid and second-round leader Jerry Pate tied for the lead at five under about midway through the third round, play was halted for the second and final time because of hard rain.

The 33 golfers still on the course will finish their rounds starting at 8:15 a.m. EDT today, then go right into their final rounds, with all players off by 11 a.m.

“I love to play golf, so it doesn’t matter how many holes we play,” Pate said. “I’m in pretty good shape so there won’t be a fatigue factor -- it’s not going to come into my game. I’m looking forward to playing.”

Seven others are within four shots of the lead, including 62-year-old Raymond Floyd, who is trying to become one of the oldest winners ever on the Champions Tour. He was three under through No. 12, two off the lead and one behind Dave Barr, who was alone at four under.

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Justin Leonard shot a four-under 66 in the St. Jude Classic at Memphis, Tenn., to extend his lead to eight strokes, the largest 54-hole advantage on the PGA Tour this year.

Leonard, who began the third round with a five-stroke lead, had four birdies in his bogey-free round to reach 17-under 193. Nobody in tour history has blown a seven-stroke lead heading into the final round, and Leonard has been on cruise control since opening with a 62.

Heath Slocum (67) was closest at nine under.

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Once Karine Icher gained the third-round lead in the LPGA Corning (N.Y.) Classic, not even Annika Sorenstam could take it away. Icher, who began the round with a one-shot lead over Sorenstam and Sherri Turner, shot a four-under 68 to finish at 12-under 204.

Hee-Won Han had a career-best 62, also the lowest score of the year on the LPGA Tour, to match the course record set two years ago by Juli Inkster. Han was a stroke behind Icher and one ahead of Sorenstam (69).