Mickelson puts on a show on back nine of Pebble but stands 3 back of Casey; wayward Spieth falters.
Mickelson three shots back; courses hold up well in rain
PEBBLE BEACH >> Paul Casey fired a 5-under-par 67 amid rain and wind at Spyglass Hill Golf Course on Saturday to take the lead at 15-under in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, while Phil Mickelson finished the day three shots back in second place.
Showers moved through the area around noon, increasing in intensity at times, but play continued as the precipitation tapered off about 45 minutes later. Friday’s second round was cut short due to rain, but it was completed in time Saturday morning to allow the third round to start on schedule. More precipitation is in the forecast for today’s final round which is scheduled to tee off at 7:30 a.m.
Scott Piercy and Lucas Glover enter the final round in a tie for third at 11-under, with Brian Gay and Matt Every tied for fifth at 10-under.
Casey, who entered Saturday with a share of the lead, said the courses were doing “remarkably well” considering the amount of rain that’s fallen on the Monterey Peninsula in recent days.
“The staff have been amazing to prepare the courses the way they did, especially considering (Friday’s) deluge,” he said.
Casey’s only bogey came on the sixth hole while he recorded birdies on the fourth, seventh, ninth, 11th, 14th and 15th. He joked that the ninth was playing beautifully because he birdied it.
“I hit a soft 6-iron to the back left portion of the green and
made my putt,” he said.
Despite an up-and-down day that included four bogeys, Mickelson said he thought it was a successful round.
“I thought anything in the 60s was going to be a heck of a round and I was one shy,” Mickelson said after shooting a 69 at Pebble Beach.
A birdie on the 13th hole followed by an eagle boosted Mickelson back under par for the day.
“The drive on 14 was a hellacious bomb,” he said. “That thing was way out there. I can barely reach that hole ever and I had 4-iron in.”
Showers are likely today, mainly before 10 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. Between a tenth and quarter of an inch of rain is possible, with a west northwest wind blowing 21 to 24 mph and gusts as high as 30 mph.
“I don’t mind if it gets really rough,” Mickelson said, referencing conditions for the final round. “But I also love it if it’s a beautiful, sunny day walking around Pebble, so there’s nothing better than that. But I think for me to have my best chance, the weather would have to come in.”
Gay said he’s expecting more wind today after he dealt with difficult conditions Saturday en route to a 3-under 69 at Pebble Beach.
“The wind picked up at the turn and then a little bit of rain, so it wasn’t too easy coming in,” Gay said.
Gay said the temperature was the biggest weather-related challenge.
“Too many layers and I just feel like I can’t move, so I’m constantly on and off with the jacket, trying to stay warm,” he said.
After finishing Friday tied for the lead, Jordan Spieth went back out to Spyglass Hill for his final two holes of the second round. A bogey on the ninth dropped him into a tie for fifth entering the third round. His day only got worse at Pebble Beach, where he ended 2-over for the day and tied for 18th place overall.
“(It) kind of stinks because I really had it going the last couple days and just didn’t have the same rhythm today,” Spieth said, calling his day “a tough one.”
Spieth unraveled on the final two holes at Pebble Beach, wrapping up his day with a bogey followed by a double-bogey. After sending a drive into Monterey Bay on the 18th hole, Spieth’s approach ended up in the gallery.
“I drove the ball well the last two days and then today I just, my driver didn’t behave at all,” he said.
Russell Knox, Jonathan Byrd, Si Woo Kim, Scott Langley, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Jason Day and Scott Stallings are tied for seventh at 9-under.