Play at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am was suspended shortly after midday Pacific time (PT) on Saturday after strong winds, but not before Peter Malnati had taken a two-shot lead.

The decision was taken to suspend play at all three courses in the interest of fairness, with the winds so strong that balls on the ninth green at Monterey Peninsula Country Club would not stay still.

It had been hoped the third round could resume at 2pm PT, but it was soon confirmed that play had been suspended for the day, with the third round to resume at 8am PT on Sunday.

Malnati was playing his third round at Pebble Beach Golf Links, and carded six birdies and six pars from his 12 holes before play was suspended, taking him to the top of the leaderboard heading into Sunday on 12 under par overall.

Joseph Bramlett (after 13 holes) and Keith Mitchell (after 10 holes) sit tied for second on 10 under, with the former struggling after a good start.

Bramlett – also playing at Pebble Beach on Saturday along with former footballer Gareth Bale as his amateur – was three under for the round from his first eight holes, before bogeying three of the next five, albeit with birdies on the other two.

The leaders from the first two rounds, Hank Lebioda and Kurt Kitayama, are tied fourth on nine under, with Leboda one under for the round after 11 holes at Spyglass Hill Golf Course, while Kitayama is even par after nine holes on the same course.

Winds reportedly reached 40mph on Saturday, and the suspension means play is likely to go into Monday.

Mitchell had words of praise for his amateur team-mate, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, saying: "The guy was out practicing in the rain and the wind this afternoon when everybody was inside. I can’t imagine him not showing up [tomorrow]. The weather's better tomorrow morning than in Buffalo right now, I can promise you that."

Another NFL star, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, heads the amateur leaderboard on 25 under par, which is made all the more impressive considering his pro, Ben Silverman, is two over. The duo lead Malnati and FedEx president Don Colleran by three shots.