Live Report: AT&T Pebble Beach, Round 3
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OVER AND DONE (7:05 p.m): Three rounds of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am are over now, and Dustin Johnson and Paul Goydos have separated themselves from the pack.
Johnson and Godyos rode 64s, shot at Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach, respectively, into shares of the lead at 18 under. Their nearest competitors are Bryce Molder, J.B. Holmes and Matt Jones, who are four strokes behind.
Johnson and Goydos came to Pebble Beach with momentum so their strong play is not a huge surprise. Johnson, who is this week's defending champion, tied for third at the Northern Trust Open last week while Goydos, who is one of Corey Pavin's assistant Ryder Cup captains, shared fifth.
The cut came at 4 under and included 69 players. Among those making an early exit are Pavin, John Daly, Ryo Ishikawa; five-time AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am champ Mark O'Meara and two-time winner Davis Love III.
Another 10 players who finished at 211, including Mark Wilson, who will defend his title at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun next week; will get paid and earn FedExCup points but do not play on Sunday.
Soccer sensation Brandi Chastain, actor Josh Duhamel and San Francisco 49er veteran Harris Barton are among the celebrities whose teams made the pro-am cut. Everyone plays Pebble Beach on Sunday and another spectacular day is on the horizon. -- Helen Ross
WAXING ELOQUENTLY (6:10 p.m.): Leave it to the TOUR's resident philosopher, Paul Goydos, to put Saturday's third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in perspective.
"What they've got here is God's gift to golf," he said after shooting a 64 on Pebble Beach that left him tied for the lead with Dustin Johnson at 18 under.
"Pebble Beach in sunny weather with the waves breaking. It doesn't get any better -- and if you don't like this, you're in the wrong profession." -- Helen Ross
READY TO GO (5:27 p.m.): Paul Goydos' last two birdies were kick-ins and the veteran from California will start the final round in a tie for the lead, as a result.
Two holes after making a 17-inch birdie putt at No. 7, Goydos polished off a round of 64 with an 18-inch putt. He didn't made a bogey all day, either, and rolled in an 8-foot eagle putt on the second hole.
He'll have a date with Dustin Johnson in the final round. They will both be seeking their third career wins. -- Helen Ross
COMFORT ZONE (5:10 p.m.): Dustin Johnson might want to think about buying some property out here on the Monterey Peninsula. He certainly seems comfortable here.
He shot a combined 21 under in his first two appearances at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am -- including 15 under in three rounds of his rain-shortened victory in 2009. This year has been more of the same.
Johnson flirted with a share of the course record at Spyglass Hill on Saturday, only to finish with 64 after a bogey on his final hole. So he'll enter tomorrow's final round of his title defense 18 under and tied with Paul Goydos, who shot 64 at Pebble Beach in the third round.
Before that three-putt on the 18th hole, though, Johnson had made two eagles and six birdies at Spyglass Hill. The course, he says, just suits his eye.
"If I drive it straight out there I'm gonna have a good chance the at all the par 5s, so that helps. "Then the greens are soft, which I like. The greens there roll very good. Probably the best of the three, I think, as far as smoothness. I just hit the ball great. Made a few putts." -- Helen Ross
NEED TO MOUNT A CHARGE (4:45 p.m.): With Dustin Johnson finished and Paul Goydos playing his 17th hole of the day, the new players to watch are J.B. Holmes, Alex Cejka, David Duval and Matt Jones.
All have completed 14 holes. Holmes is 3 under at Spyglass Hill and Cejka 3 under at Pebble Beach. Those two trail Johnson by five strokes. Duval and Jones are playing the Shore Course and are 3 and 2 under, respectively, to trail by six. -- Helen Ross
TIGHTENING UP (4:40 p.m.): Paul Goydos just came within 17 inches of an ace at the seventh hole at Pebble Beach -- and the resulting birdie produced a two-stroke swing as Dustin Johnson made bogey on his final hole at Spyglass Hill.
Johnson finished with a round of 64 that moved him to 18 under. Goydos has two holes remaining at Pebble Beach and now trails by just one.
Stay tuned. -- Helen Ross
PUSHING FORWARD (4:20 p.m.): Dustin Johnson just birdied the 17th hole at Spyglass Hill -- which puts him one stroke off the course record shot by Luke Donald in 2006 and Phil Mickelson in 2005.
More importantly, his sixth birdie of the day, combined with those two eagles, gives Johnson a little more breathing room. He's three head of Paul Goydos, who is 6 under through 15 holes at Pebble Beach.
Bryce Molder has just birdied the ninth hole, his final one of the day, to finish off a 68 at Spyglass Hill to take sole possession of third at 14 under, which is a distant five strokes behind the leader. -- Helen Ross
GARCIA MAKES MOVE (3:55 p.m.): Sergio Garcia strained a tendon in the back of his right palm when he played in the Dubai World Championship last November.
He didn't touch a club for the better part of seven weeks, as a result. But judging from Garcia's performance this week in his 2010 PGA TOUR debut, the 30-year-old Spaniard's injury is well-healed.
He's playing Pebble Beach on Saturday and is 5 under through 17 holes. Garcia hasn't made a bogey, and he's 8 under for the tournament. He and partner Josh Duhamel of "Transformers" fame are currently tied for fourth in the team portion of the event.
Garcia, who had not played in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am since 2001, wanted to test himself and try to get into a rhythm prior to next week's World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.
"I feel like I'm slowly getting better at it," Garcia said earlier in the week. "I feel like I'm swinging the club better. I'm working hard on my chipping and putting, and it's going to take a little bit of time. Every time you're working on new things, they don't come easily.
" ... I know what I'm doing. It feels good. So it's just a matter of keeping hard at it, and you know, hopefully get back to that level that we played middle to end of 2008." -- Helen Ross
NOT A QUITTER (3:20 p.m.): Paul Goydos averages 268 yards off the tee -- which is 30 yards shorter than Dustin Johnson.
But Goydos certainly isn't giving up anything on the golf course. He's just eagled the par-5 second hole at Pebble Beach, rolling in an 8-foot putt, to pull within three of Johnson. Goydos is alone in second at 15 under.
Johnson, meanwhile, is playing Spyglass Hill. He's 8 under through 14 holes and has played the par 5s there in 6 under.
If the leaderboard stays the same, the two will be playing in the final group on Sunday. Guess who'll be hitting first into the green. -- Helen Ross
SINGH ON THE RISE (3 p.m.): Vijay Singh is quietly putting together one of the day's better rounds. The 2004 champion, who also has three runner-up finishes in the tournament, is 4 under through seven holes at Pebble Beach.
Singh's first birdie came at the fourth hole where he rolled in a 9-footer. The big Fijian made a 56-footer for eagle at the sixth hole and followed with a 4-footer at the next hole.
Like the rest, though, Singh has a lot of ground to make up if he's to catch Dustin Johnson. Singh is tied for ninth at 10 under for the tournament -- a distant seven shots behind Johnson. -- Helen Ross
RUNNING AWAY (2:30 p.m.): Dustin Johnson is up to his old tricks. The big-hitting South Carolinian just eagled the 528-yard 11th hole at Spyglass Hill.
The eagle is Johnson's second of the day and moved him to 17 under. He leads Paul Goydos and J.B. Holmes by four strokes. -- Helen Ross
PHIL CLIMBING (2:15 p.m.): Phil Mickelson has made an appearace among the top 10 on the leaderboard. The three-time AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am champ is 2 under through seven holes at Pebble Beach.
Both Mickelson's birdies have come on the front nine par 5s. He two-putted from 39 feet on the second and got up and down from beside the greenside bunker at No. 6, making a 3-footer.
So Mickelson is 9 under and tied for ninth, but he still has a lot of ground to make up on Dustin Johnson. The defending champ is 5 under for the day at Spyglass Hill and 15 under for the tournament. -- Helen Ross
SCORING UPDATE (2 p.m.): Dustin Johnson finally made his first bogey of the day after shooting a 30 on the front nine at Spyglass Hill. That 6-under total ties Phil Mickelson (first round, 2005) for the nine-hole tournament record there.
After the bogey at the 10th hole, Johnson is 15 under and leads Paul Goydos by two. Goydos is 3 under through seven holes on the back nine at Pebble Beach.
J.B. Holmes and David Duval are also moving forward. The two are tied at 12 under -- Holmes is 2 under through six holes at Spyglass Hill while Duval has birdied three of his first five holes at the Shore Course. -- Helen Ross
IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING (1:45 p.m.): The field will be cut to the low 60 pros and ties at the end of Saturday's third round.
It's early, to be sure. But among the pros currently looking at an early exit are Mark Wilson, who will defend his title at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun; five-time AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am champ Mark O'Meara, two-time champ Davis Love III, Ryo Ishikawa, John Daly, Adam Scott, Rory Sabbatini and U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin.
The low 25 teams also play on Sunday. Right now, the celebrities who appear safe are Josh Duhamel (playing with Sergio Garcia) and Brandi Chastain (playing with Ricky Barnes). Check out the amateur leaderboard here. -- Helen Ross
CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS (1:30 p.m.) The actors and athletes will be on display today at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Ever wonder how good the celebrities really are?
Well, three are scratch golfers -- Kenny G., Tony Romo and Vince Gill.
Here are the handicaps of some of the rest: Kelly Slater (3), Thomas Gibson (6), Chris O"Donnell (6), Tom Brady (8), Clay Walker (8), John O'Hurley (9), Andy Garcia (10), Harris Barton (10), Huey Lewis (10), Michael Bolton (11), Don Cheadle (12), George Lopez (13) Josh Duhamel (12), Bill Murray (12), Brandi Chastain (16), Rob Morrow (18) and Chris Berman (18).
You can check out our celebrity list here. -- Helen Ross
COURSE STATS (1:15 p.m.): Spyglass Hill is still holding steady as the most difficult of the three courses in the rotation, playing to a cumulative par of 71.577.
Pebble Beach's two-day average is 70.904 while the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, the only par 70 of the three, is clocking in at 68.835.
Steve Lowery tied Dustin Johnson for the low round of the tournament when he shot 64 on Friday at the Shore Course. Johnson's came at Pebble Beach in the first round, though, so it was 8 under. -- Helen Ross
GIVING CHASE (1 p.m.): Paul Goydos isn't letting Dustin Johnson get out of his sights. The 46-year-old veteran started on the back nine at Pebble Beach Saturday and rolled in a 10-footer for birdie at the 11th hole and added another from 6 on the par-3 12th hole.
Johnson, though, added another birdie on the sixth hole at Spyglass Hill to move to 15 under so he's three strokes up on Goydos. The two had started the round in a six-way tie at 10 under at the top of the leaderboard.
Goydos said Friday that he expects to see more low scores on the weekend.
"It's just so soft right now, and it's a little bit like shooting darts,' Goydos said. "Playing the ball up. The weather is good. I think it blew about three miles an hour today. Just no defense at these golf courses." -- Helen Ross
JOHNSON RED-HOT (12:45 p.m.) Dustin Johnson appears to be making a statement at Spyglass Hill on Saturday. He eagled his first hole and birdied Nos. 3 and 4 so he suddenly finds himself 14 under and owning a four-stroke lead.
Johnson chipped in for his eagle and has two one-putt greens. He's obviously having a better day on the greens than he did Friday in shooting 68 on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club. He used 30 putts there.
"I struggled a little bit today on the putting green," Johnson said after his round on the Monterey Peninsula Country Clu b gem. "But other than that, I'm hitting it very well. I'm playing good. Making good decisions.
"So I'm very comfortable where I'm at, and looking for a good day tomorrow."
Johnson likes Spyglass, too. He shot 69 there, with a double bogey, when he won last year and a 68 in 2008 when he tied for seventh in his debut.
"Fits my eye well," Johnson said. "I played a few rounds there, so I'm comfortable with all the holes. I think I got good game plan working for tomorrow." -- Helen Ross
KUCHAR WD'S (12:30 p.m.): Matt Kuchar has withdrawn from the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am due to an unspecified medical issue. He was 4 under for the tournament but did not start his third round at Monterey Peninsula's Shore course on Saturday. -- Helen Ross
PERFECT DAY FOR SCORING (12:15 p.m.) -- Word is that 49 of the 50 United States have snow on the ground somewhere -- including a rare 8 inches on the southern coast of North Carolina where my folks live. So that makes us even more thankful for the blue skies and bright sunshine that has engulfed the Monterey Peninsula this weekend.
Temperatures will be in the mid-60s today and Sunday, which should bring the crowds out in big numbers. A high surf advisory will add to the aura -- bringing large breaking waves crashing against the craggy coastline. The CBS broadcast should shine. -- Helen Ross
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