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Australian Min Woo Lee has fallen five shots off the pace at the rain-delayed Cognizant Classic PGA Tour event in Florida.

Min Woo Lee may have blown his hopes of a maiden PGA Tour victory with one sloppy swing at the weather-hit Cognizant Classic in Florida.

Lee finds himself five shots behind American leader Austin Eckroat in the final round after dragging his tee shot into the water and taking a dreaded double-bogey five at the par-3 fifth hole at PGA National.

The leading Australian was 10 under through seven holes when the horn sounded signalling the suspension of play for the day after a three-and-a-half-hour rain stoppage earlier on Sunday.

A two-time DP World Tour winner, Lee had birdied the third and fourth holes to briefly pull within one shot of the lead before his mishap.

But successive birdies of his own left Eckroat to sleep on a one-stroke buffer over South African clubhouse leader Erik van Royen, who had posted a closing eight-under 63 to finish at 14 under.

After starting the day seven shots back, van Royen birdied the first six holes, and seven of the first eight, in a blazing front-nine 28 at Palm Beach Gardens.

"Being that far back, you know you have to make a run at it," van Rooyen said.

"The course is playing so soft right now. Getting off to a great start was awesome, but the rain delay probably didn't help me much. I had so much momentum."

Eckroat, one of three 54-hole co-leaders, only teed off after the rain delay had ended at 4:20 local time and went two under through his first seven holes to get to 15 under.

"Just a weird day," Eckroat told Golf Channel.

The final round will resume at 8am on Monday morning (midnight Monday AEDT), according to the tour.

In third place at 13 under was Jake Knapp, the PGA Tour rookie who earned his first career win last week at the Mexico Open at Vidanta.

Tour veterans Keith Mitchell (65), Billy Horschel, Alex Noren of Sweden and Irishman Shane Lowry are lurking at 12 under.

With Reuters