Vijay Singh, noted for his practice regimen and ball-striking ability, worked his way into a three-shot lead three-quarters of the way through Saturday's third round of the Masters Tournament.

Despite wind that gusted to a high of 42 mph and cold weather that dropped the temperature close to 50 degrees, Singh was 2-under par for his round when play was halted at 7:45 p.m., with birdies on holes 2, 8, 12 and 14 and bogeys on holes 4 and 11.

``I just thought about really concentrating on what I was doing out there and just hitting good shots, good solid strikes to the ball,'' Singh said. ``I think the windy conditions like that, you need to strike the ball really solid and keep it down under the trees.''

Singh was so confident in his ability that he could even find humor in the windy conditions. Veteran CBS broadcaster Ken Venturi mentioned on air that it looked like someone's toupee was blowing past Singh as he played the 13th hole.

``Maybe it was his,'' Singh said as the press room broke up.

The 37-year-old Fijian resides in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., where he utilizes the practice facilities at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass, home of The Players Championship.

He is famous for spending countless hours on the practice range at PGA Tour events. The trend is so routine that one writer asked him at 8:15 p.m. if he was going to visit a public driving range Saturday night. Singh said no, perhaps because he led the field in greens in regulation (30 of 36) through two rounds.

But more than anything, the key for Singh has been renewed confidence in putting. He has been known to change putters quickly, once experimented with a long putter, putted with his eyes closed briefly and is currently putting cross-handed. His best Masters finish, a tie for 17th in 1997, came when he putted best (tie for seventh in the field). He was tied for 49th in putting through two rounds this week and had no three-putts through 14 holes Saturday.

A year ago, Singh had the most putts of any player who completed four rounds. He's been frank about carrying a defeatist attitude about the difficult Augusta National greens.

``I'm putting great this week,'' Singh said. ``I've been feeling very comfortable on the greens coming over here, and I practiced a lot. I just feel comfortable over the putts right now, and I think I'll feel comfortable tomorrow.''

The next step begins this morning at 8:15 when he faces a 110-yard third shot into the par-5 15th green, one of the more difficult approaches on the course.