Play suspended at fog-shrouded Torrey Pines

LA JOLLA, California (AFP) –

Tiger Woods hits a tee shot on the 11th hole during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines North Golf Course on January 25, 2013 in La Jolla, California. Woods’s pursuit of yet another title at Torrey Pines was put on hold, as fog disrupted the third round

Tiger Woods’s pursuit of yet another title at Torrey Pines was put on hold, as fog disrupted the third round of the US PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open.

Woods, hoping to build on a two-stroke overnight lead, never even got on the course, and officials said they expect the $6.1 million tournament to finish on Monday.

The start of the round was delayed for three hours, then suspended after five minutes as fog off the Pacific Ocean rolled in again just after the first groups had teed off at the first and 10th holes of Torrey’s South Course.

“There is nothing we can do about it,” Mark Russell, vice president of rules and competition for the US tour, said. “Hopefully it gets better and we can play some golf.”

That didn’t happen, and after keeping the players on tap through the afternoon just in case the fog lifted, officials at last announced that the third round would resume on Sunday at 7am (1500 GMT).

Although 87 players made the halfway cut, there will be no 54-hole cut.

Even before play was officially called off for the day Russell acknowledged that the tournament appeared to be heading toward a Monday finish.

“We’ve pretty much lost a whole day right now and it looks like we might have to play Monday,” he said as the delay dragged on. “Our regulations say we need to play 72 holes and to do that we might need to go into Monday.”

Woods has won the US PGA Tour event at Torrey Pines six times. It’s also where he claimed the most recent of his 14 major titles at the 2008 US Open.

Woods carded a second-round 65 on Friday to take the 36-hole lead on 11-under par 133.

Billy Horschel was his closest pursuer, after a 69 for 135 on Friday.