Spieth on top after wild finish to third round
He holes out for eagle on No. 16 and leads by two after Berger goes out of bounds on 18.
PEBBLE BEACH — One swing put Jordan Spieth closer than ever to ending a long and mystifying slump, and served as a reminder that he still has a long road ahead at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Two shots behind with three holes to play Saturday, Spieth holed out with an eight-iron from 160 yards for eagle on the 16th hole, the start of a stunning turnaround that sent him to a one-under-par 71 and a twoshot lead going into the final round.
Daniel Berger helped out by going from a share of the lead to two shots behind when his tee shot on the parfive 18th was out of bounds by inches and led to a double bogey.
“It’s a good lesson to learn for tomorrow, how quickly things can change out here,” Spieth said.
The timing was ideal for Spieth, who has been without a victory in his last 79 events since he won the 2017 British Open at Royal Birkdale.
A week ago in the Phoenix Open, he couldn’t make any putts and closed with a 72 to finish two shots behind.
He led by two shots at the turn Saturday only to miss the green and make bogey at the 10th, 12th and 14th.
The pin on the 16th was cut to the left on a severely pitched green, and it was perfect.
Spieth was at 13-under 203 with plenty of contenders right behind.
Berger called over an official for a linear measure of his ball on the 18th, against the hedges but inside the white disks that mark out of bounds. He still had a 72 and was two shots behind.
“I’m still two shots out of the lead, so I feel pretty good about my chances going into tomorrow and drop a few more putts and it will be a good week,” he said.
Patrick Cantlay, whose third round began with an eagle, birdied the 18th for a 70 and joined Berger two shots out of the lead. Nate Lashley (68), Tom Hoge (68) and Russell Knox (69) also were two shots behind.
Jason Day was very much in the mix, too, after a 68 left him in the group at 10-under 206.
Paul Casey stayed three shots behind with a great break on the 18th when his tee shot tumbled down onto the rocks, but had a flat enough lie he could hit off the rock back into the fairway. He shot 71.