CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — The greens were soft, the palm trees were steady and the TPC at Heron Bay was perfect for scoring Saturday.
Mike Weir and Brett Wetterich were tied for the lead at 14 under when the third round of the Honda Classic was halted because of darkness. Weir completed 10 holes and Wetterich 11.
"You have to make birdies or you're going to get lapped," said Weir, the left-hander from Canada who has one PGA Tour victory in each of the last three years.
Twenty-five others, including Fred Couples and Phil Mickelson, were within four strokes of the lead.
"The winner may be outside of four shots," said Matt Kuchar, who shot a third-round 66 to move to 13 under. "Everybody is in contention. A lot of people will have a chance."
Play will resume Sunday morning, and the final round will start shortly after the third round is completed.
Heavy rain fell on the course Thursday, leaving dozens of players with more than 18 holes to play Friday and Saturday.
The weather also left the course with soft greens that yielded several low scores. Scoring was made even easier Saturday when Heron Bay's lone defender — strong, steady wind — took a day off.
Only five of 71 players were over par in the third round when it was suspended at 6:30 p.m. EST.
"The course is there to be had with these conditions," Kuchar said.
Second-round leader John Riegger, rookie Stephen Gangluff and 1988 Honda Classic champion Joey Sindelar were tied with Kuchar at 13 under.
Kuchar and Gangluff (65) were among the 21 golfers who completed the third round.
Kuchar, the 1997 U.S. Amateur champion, holed out a bunker shot for birdie on No. 8, then ran to the ninth tee and got off his drive just before the horn sounded to end play.
Because he teed off, he was then able to finish the final hole, meaning he won't have to resume the round at 7:30 a.m. Sunday.
"That makes a big difference," he said.
Riegger had a share of the lead after eight holes, but his tee shot on the tough, par-4 No. 18 found the water. He bogeyed the hole to fall a stroke behind of the leaders. Weir was one stroke behind Riegger as the third round began.
TOSHIBA SENIOR CLASSIC: At Newport Beach, Calif., Hale Irwin shot a 7-under 64 to take a three-stroke lead in the Toshiba Senior Classic.
Irwin, who won the ACE Group Classic last month in Florida for his record 33rd senior title, had an 11-under 131 total on the Newport Beach Country Club course.
Larry Nelson matched Irwin's 64 for a three-way tie for second with Gil Morgan (66) and first-round leader Allen Doyle (68).