Resurgent Spieth extends PGA lead at Pebble Beach Pro-am

SAN FRANCISCO: Jordan Spieth holed out from the fairway for a sensational eagle at 16 on Saturday on the way to a one-under par 71 and a two-shot lead in the US PGA Tour Pebble Beach Pro-am.

Spieth took another step toward ending a title drought that stretches to his 2017 British Open triumph, his 13-under total of 203 puting him two strokes in front of a group of five players headlined by world number 15 Daniel Berger.

Spieth shook off an early bogey with three birdies on the front nine -- including an up-anddown from a greenside bunker at the sixth.

But the 27-year-old looked to be in trouble with bogeys at the 10th, 12th and 14th as the scenic course overlooking the Pacific Ocean played tough in unpredictable, gusting winds.

He was two behind playing partner Berger arriving at the 16th, where his eight-iron second shot from 160 yards out in the fairway hit the green and spun let straight into the cup.

It was Spieth’s second hole-out from more than 100 yards out this week, ater his eagle at the 10th on Thursday.

“In the air I thought it was going to be really good, and as it landed it was just exactly where I was trying to hit it, certainly a bonus for it to drop.”

Spieth said his back nine was a “good lesson” to take into Sunday: “how quickly things can change out here.”

Berger surrendered his share of the lead with a double-bogey at the par-five 18th, where his tee shot landed out of bounds beyond a cart path right of the fairway.

Berger was buoyed early by an eagle at the par-four fourth, where he drove the green and drained an eight-footer.

“It was nice to get that nice big bounce up there and make the put,” he said. “One of the few good things to happen to me today.”

He gave a shot back with a three-put bogey at the seventh, but birdied the 11th and held steady on the back nine until his disastrous finishing hole.

“I hit a bunch of really good golf shots today,” said Berger, who has nine top-10 finishes since the PGA Tour resumed ater it’s coronavirus hiatus ended last June at Colonial -- where Berger won in a playoff.

Berger was joined on 205 by Scotland’s Russell Knox and Americans Nate Lashley, Tom Hoge and Patrick Cantlay.