Golf: Singh charges ahead of Woods

NORTON, Massachusetts - Fiji's Vijay Singh racked up nine birdies and an eagle to go three strokes clear of Tiger Woods at the top of the Deutsche Bank championship leaderboard today.

Singh shot a 10-under par 61 on the third day, setting a course record to move to 11 under par for the tournament.

Briton Justin Rose, the overnight leader, was tied with Woods, seeking his fifth victory in a row, in second on eight under par.

With the rain coming down throughout the afternoon, Singh used the conditions to his advantage.

He repeatedly dropped his approach shots within feet of the holes, counting on the slow greens to leave little roll and setting up birdie putt opportunities.

"Every time the greens are wet, you can just fire right at the flag," Singh told reporters. "The greens were accepting the ball really well."

Singh's eagle came on the 554-yard, par-five second hole, where he hit a towering drive and landed his second shot on the green. He bogeyed just once, on the sixth hole, where his drive flew to the left rough and then three-putted.

Rose said the weather, which had concerned the players on Friday and Saturday as the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto made their way up the East Coast, proved not to be as tough as feared.

"The rain never really got heavy enough where it was a big problem," Rose said. "It was more of an annoyance."

Woods made just four birdies in his round.

"I had numerous opportunities to make some putts, and just couldn't do it," he said.

Tied for fourth were Americans Shaun Micheel and J.J. Henry, at six under par.

Singh is on curse to secure his second PGA tournament win of the year on Monday, which would break Woods's four-tournament winning streak.

"I'm not going to be thinking about his streak or beating him, I'm just going to go out there and try to play my game," Singh said.

"I've been playing long enough to know that you don't go out there and worry about the guys that are playing with you. You worry about your own game."

Other players believe Woods still has a good chance of sealing yet another win.

"Any time Tiger's around, he's a player that's always a factor," Micheel said.

- REUTERS