With Hal Sutton safely on the 12th fairway and leading Tiger Woods, his closest challenger, by three strokes, play was suspended yesterday in the final round of the $6 million Players Players' Championship here on the Stadium Course. An electric storm eventually caused a postponement until this morning, when play will resume at 9.0 a.m., local time.

Nick Price is the clubhouse leader on four under par, after a sparkling 67 for 284. And Colin Montgomerie, Lee Janzen, Jeff Maggert and Tom Lehman are also at four under, but with much of the treacherous back nine still to negotiate.

"Obviously I'd like to have stayed playing but we had a dangerous situation out there with lightning popping everywhere," said Sutton afterwards. Ironically, when he won this championship in 1983, play was also suspended and he faced a complete final round on the Monday.

"I thought about that in the locker-room just now," he said with a smile. Then, in his deep, southern drawl, Sutton added: "We don't come to a course like this looking for an easy way to win, so I won't be thinking poor pitiful me."

The precise positions of the last pair are: Sutton faces an 82-yard approach shot to the 12th, whereas Woods is on the green. "It's a pretty straightforward double or triplebreaking 40-footer," said the world number one with a grin, afterwards.

Sutton - "we kinda do what we're told" - would not be drawn into any criticism of the ludicrously late start of 2.0 p.m. for the final round, but Woods took issue with a time which was clearly geared for television. "We'd have had a tough time finishing, even without a storm," he said.

Before the pair headed out for the final round, Sutton remained defiant, despite having had his lead cut to a slender stroke by a triplebogey six at the short 17th on Saturday. "I've got the best player in the world on my tail but I'm not gonna roll over and play dead," he said.

More than 11 holes later, his attitude hadn't changed. "This is not a Hal Sutton-Tiger Woods duel - I'm playing the golf course," he said afterwards. Then, when quizzed on the possibility of increasing pressure, he replied: "There's a lot of ways you could figure out how I could lose this thing, but I'm not thinking about them."

For his part, Woods was decidedly upbeat. "Things aren't going exactly as I'd like, but there's a lot of golf to be played," he said. "It is much easier to come from behind on a course like this, where a lot of things can happen over the closing holes. I've got a pretty good chance of winning."

It is the first time 41-year-old has gone head-to-head with Woods, who has won 10 of his previous 17 tour events. But this is a vastly different Sutton from the pathetic figure of the early '90s who was so much at odds with his swing that he was embarrassed to join his fellow professionals on the practice ground.

During an eight-year barren period, he went through three wives, several swing coaches, a couple of sports psychologists and plunged to 185th in the US money list. It was quite a tumble for a player who, in 1983, won this tournament and later out-gunned no less a rival than Jack Nicklaus to capture the USPGA Championship on the way to leading the money list.

As it happened, Woods struck an early blow yesterday to birdie the first and draw level. But while Sutton reeled off seven straight pars, it was Woods who stumbled, with bogeys at the third and fourth to drop back, two strokes adrift.

Sutton also played the short eighth in regulation, though this one was rather special par. From an extremely difficult lie in a greenside trap, he made a wonderful recovery to 12 feet and then sank the putt for a most improbable par to maintain his two-stroke lead.

It became three strokes at the long 11th. This time, after a rather indifferent chip, he holed a wonderful putt of 27 feet for a birdie four whereas Woods, who played a far superior pitch to six feet, missed.

Meanwhile, just as Thomas Bjorn was about to address the ball on the 17th tee, he had a quick look at the green. Sticking to his original strategy for the hole, it would be his only view of the island target. And for a fourth successive day, he came away with a par.

On this occasion, it kept him three under par for the round. And after over-shooting the 18th green, he maintained that position by playing a beautiful bunker recovery to four feet and then sinking the putt for a 69.

It made Bjorn one of the few Europeans to break 70 since scores began to rocket in the opening round last Thursday. Even more satisfying was that it gave him the distinction of being the second-highest placed European behind Montgomerie, on his debut in the event.

"It's a bit of a milestone," said the Dane, who was tied 53rd overnight.

"These are the best 18 parkland holes I've ever played, though I would rate the back nine at Augusta National as the best nine I've played."

He went on: "With the last player receiving $12,000 here, I realised what a great opportunity this was for us, especially when you consider some of the purses we play for in Europe."

Nick Faldo was also en route for a sub-70 final round after birdies at the 10th and 11th. But he then had the sort of experience which, sadly, has become commonplace for him these days. On the 181-yard 13th, he pulled two seven-iron shots into the water on the left.