Perry heads leaderboard at Bay Hill

Kenny Perry upstaged golf’s big names to take a one-stroke lead during the third round of the Bay Hill Invitational in Florida.

Perry picked up three shots in 11 holes to improve to nine under par before play was halted for the day in fading light in Orlando.

“I drove the ball beautifully and hit my irons really good,” Perry said.

But as well as he played, he could not break clear of Stephen Ames, who also collected three birdies to keep the pressure on at eight under, also after 11 holes.

Vijay Singh and KJ Choi each played 13 holes and are two shots behind, while Fred Couples trails by three with two holes left in his third round.

Only 30 players completed the round, with Aaron Baddeley and Duffy Waldorf in the clubhouse at four under on 212.

The other 40 will resume on Sunday at 8am local time (1pm Irish time), with the final round scheduled to start at about three hours later.

Four-time Bay Hill winner Tiger Woods is among those who will be up before dawn, and he has much work to do to get back into contention after plunging nine shots behind after 13 holes.

Woods hit only five of 11 fairways, and his wild tee shot at the par-four ninth proved costly as he pulled his ball out-of-bounds, leading to a double-bogey.

Perry, on the other hand, had no such problems – missing just one fairway and one green in regulation.

“It was a real fun day and I had a lot of opportunities,” said the 44-year-old, who has seven PGA Tour victories, including three in four starts in 2003.

“I’m frustrated that I didn’t separate myself a little bit from the field. Hopefully I can finish up strong in the morning and then go get ’em in the afternoon.

“I’ve never won in Florida and I’ve never understood why.”

Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell is six shots back on -3 with just three holes to complete in his third round.

His compatriot Darren Clarke is on even par, also with three to play in his third round.