Things got no better for Justin Rose before rain suspended play for 40 minutes in The Masters at Augusta today.

Down from joint leader to 29th after a second round 78 which went pear-shaped with a triple bogey eight on the long 15th, Rose three-putted the opening green and instantly fell to 40th spot.

It did not look that difficult a first putt by Augusta National standards, but Rose did not read the break at all well and the 30-footer curled eight feet wide of the hole.

And last season's European number one, so full of hope after putting himself top of the leaderboard for his third successive time in the event, dropped a further place by bogeying the short sixth.

That was the last hole he could play before the action was halted at 1pm because of the danger of lightning.

The suspension came 10 minutes before Tiger Woods was due to resume on one under par, joint 13th but seven strokes adrift of South African Trevor Immelman.

After two days of glorious sunshine there were showers predicted and the first of them arrived just as Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez  got the third round under way at 10.50am.

The conditions did not bother him as his five-iron approach to the 455-yard first hit the hole and stopped just two feet away.

Jimenez, playing with a marker, also birdied the long second after a pitch to six feet, but had to be content with an outward 35 after bogeying the 450-yard seventh.

He was on the 10th green when forced to return to the clubhouse, but to the relief of everyone it did not prove to be a lengthy hold-up.

Sandy Lyle made a worse start than Rose. The 50-year-old double-bogeyed the first, did birdie the long next, but then bogeyed the fourth and seventh to stand six over and 43rd of the 45 players who had survived the cut.

Ian Woosnam, delighted to be involved in the weekend action for the first time since 2000, bogeyed the third and was three over, while Open champion Padraig Harrington had time only to par the first. It kept him at one over.

Immelman, after back-to-back 68s, led by one from American Brandt Snedeker, with England's Ian Poulter and left-handed Americans Phil Mickelson and Steve Flesch three behind in third.

Only one player — Jack Burke in 1956 — had come from further behind than Woods at halfway to lift the title. Burke was eight off the pace and early on the final day was nine back before amateur Ken Venturi let him in by collapsing to an 80.