WGC-CA CHAMPIONSHIP:   Tiger Woods was three strokes from the lead when lightning halted play more than halfway through the third round at the CA Championship in Miami.

Woods started the day one stroke behind halfway leader Geoff Ogilvy, and given his recent form it seemed almost a formality that he would quickly charge to the front.

However, on a languid morning at the Doral Resort's Blue Monster, Woods struggled uncharacteristically with his putter in the early going.

Ogilvy, the 2006 United States Open champion, led at 14 under, one stroke ahead of fellow Australian Adam Scott, with Woods equal third at 11 under.

The three frontrunners had completed 11 holes when the horn sounded to stop play, with only 24 players having completed the round.

Joining Woods at 11 under were Fiji's Vijay Singh (16 holes) and South African Tim Clark (15 holes), while Graeme Storm headed an otherwise disappointing British challenge at 10 under through 15 holes.

Graeme McDowell continues to make steady progress with each passing day. Having opened with a level par 72, a second round 71 followed and today's 70 left the 28-year-old tied 34th on three-under. He was one of those players who managed to complete the round before play was halted.

Woods, seeking to preserve his seven-event, six-month winning streak, missed a short birdie putt at the first hole and an even shorter par putt at the second.

Scott, on the other hand, started like a house on fire with a 15-foot eagle at the par-five first, followed by a birdie at the third to pull level with Ogilvy, before taking the lead two holes later.

A stiff breeze is the only defence this course has, but there was hardly a puff of wind at the start of play, so it was little surprise that the world's best players were plundering birdies and eagles.

The gallery, though large, was a little smaller than might have been expected, no doubt due to the early 10.10am start that officials decided on in an effort to beat forecast afternoon thunderstorms.

Woods strode from the range to the putting green with two security officials and a police officer in close proximity, while Ogilvy, walking 50 yards behind, was all alone.

Woods was out-of-sorts from the very start, pulling his drive at the par-five first, but he found his path to the green unobstructed and managed to get an iron to the back fringe, 50 feet from the hole.

He putted down to five feet and you can safely say that everyone expected him to tidy up for an easy birdie.

Shockingly, however, his putt lipped out, catching the left side of the hole but failing to drop.

Even worse followed as he missed from inside four feet at the next, sending PGA Tour media staff scurrying to find out when Woods last missed two successive putts from such a short distance.

He had only one birdie on the front nine, finally making a three-footer at the par-four seventh.

Scott and Ogilvy, meanwhile, vied for the lead, with Ogilvy pulling into a tie with a birdie at the seventh, before going ahead with another birdie at the par-three ninth.

All three players parred the 10th and 11th holes before play was stopped.

Woods has owned this World Golf Championships event with six wins in eight tries, but for one day at least, he was showing himself to be human.

As the delay stretched into its second hour, it was far from certain whether the round would be completed.