Clarke's round was an eventful one

Darren Clarke shot an adventurous 66 to take the third-round lead in Akron, Ohio, on Saturday.

The Ulsterman now stands nine under for the lucrative tournament, leading by a shot from American Jonathan Kaye - who carded an even better 65 - with Tiger Woods also in the hunt at six under.

Clarke edged in front with birdies at five and six but found himself in deep trouble at the 10th, going down the adjacent 18th fairway, into the sand and then 25 feet past the flag before finally escaping with a bogey.

And although he quickly put that misadventure behind him with further birdies at the 11th and 13th, the Ryder Cup star rode his luck at the long 16th, where he chipped in with an improvised wood to save par after going through the green.

Clarke capitalised on that slice of luck by finishing birdie-par for a round of four under.

FIRESTONE LEADERBOARD (US unless stated) -9 Darren Clarke (GB) -8 Jonathan Kaye -7 Chris Riley -6 Tiger Woods, Davis Love III Full clubhouse scores

Woods, a winner on his last three visits to the Firestone course, is still in touch after playing the last seven holes in three under for a 67 at a time when other challenges were beginning to wane.

Ernie Els had opened birdie-eagle and reached the turn three under, but then fell away to finish with a one-over 71.

Ian Poulter and Colin Montgomerie ended the day on two under and Paul Casey on one under.

Reno-Tahoe Open

Craig Barlow topped the leaderboard with two holes to play on Saturday when third-round play was suspended because of darkness.

Australian Rod Pampling, Guy Boros, Cameron Beckman and J.P. Hayes were in the clubhouse on nine-under par.

RENO LEADERBOARD (US unless stated) -14 Craig Barlow (GB) -11 Tim Herron -9 Cameron Beckman, Guy Boros, J.P. Hayes, Rodney Pampling Full clubhouse scores

Barlow, a native of Henderson, Nevada, followed a bogey-free second-round of 65 by playing 16 holes at five-under-par to get to 14-under.

That was three shots better than Tim Herron, who was 11-under on Saturday after playing 16 holes.

Both Barlow and Herron were on the 17th green when play was stopped because of darkness.

The round was to resume Sunday morning, with the leaders due to begin the final round three hours later.