Halfway leader Jhonattan Vegas eventually set off in his penultimate round after a near three-and-a-half hour weather delay on Saturday which forced organisers to send players off in groups of three from split tees.
Moments before the first tee shot had been scheduled to be hit, the horn sounded, forcing players off the course for the lengthy stoppage and prompting the rethink by organisers, who sent players off from the first and 10th tees instead of everyone starting at the par-4 first in pairs.
But once play began shortly before midday, the heavyweight LIV Golf duo of Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm both made quick starts to inch up the leaderboard, with the 40-year-old Venezuelan Vegas, who had set off two shots clear, getting toppled from the lead in the early stages.
Instead, it was South Korea's Kim Si-woo who moved into the lead after birdieing the par-3 fourth to go seven under, only to be joined by playing partner Scheffler, who joined him after three birdies in four holes following an opening bogey.Â
World No.70 Vegas, riding high after firing consecutive under-par rounds for the first time in 17 major championship starts, was still in the thick of the battle but bogeys at the first two holes left him a shot behind alongside DeChambeau and New Zealander Ryan Fox.
Adam Scott was impressing through the first dozen holes, having gained a stroke to par and moved to within four of the leaders, while a charging Rahm was three under for his round to move to five under after 14, just a couple off the pace.
Cam Davis was at level par after dropping a couple of shots in his first 13 holes while the other Australian cut-survivor Elvis Smylie reached the turn at two over after a birdie sandwiched between two bogeys.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy was still at one over, having made no impression over his first seven holes on the day that tournament officials insisted they did not have "any concerns about player intent" after the Masters champ's driver had been deemed to be non-conforming ahead of the PGA.
It emerged on Friday that the driver McIlroy had planned to use had failed tests conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA) on Tuesday, forcing the world No.2 to use a replacement.
The Masters champion struggled off the tee during a first round of 74 but made the halfway cut on the mark of one over par, following a second round of 69.
With agencies
