Spieth in control at Pebble Beach with six-shot lead
Jordan Spieth is in complete control on the Monterey Peninsula.
Spieth has a six-shot lead heading into the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am after polishing off a 7-under 65 on Saturday with a 50-yard up-and-down for a closing birdie and a staggering 13th one-putt on the day. The 23-year-old eight-time PGA Tour winner is at 17-under 198, two shots off the all-time tournament record.
After several high finishes in tournaments to start the year despite his putting lagged behind other parts of his game, Spieth is clicking now on all cylinders.
“There were a couple putts that went in that I thought maybe had a chance to miss,” Spieth said. “But other than that, I hit my lines and they rolled right there, which is a huge confidence boost for me. It’s been something I’ve been struggling with was, is my putter this year, compared to, I guess, I would call standard for myself. And then striking the ball really well and it is my third, third and ninth place finishes were off of I think very average putting on strokes gained, so definitely made up for it today and hope to continue to tomorrow.”
Brandt Snedeker is alone in second at 11 under par, with Dustin Johnson, who played with Spieth for the first three rounds, and Kelly Kraft tied for third place at 10-under total.
Spieth’s putting and iron play were superior on Saturday, with a nearly six-hour round — the nature of the tournament’s pro-am format — not sidetracking the Texan’s game.
“It’s tough. It’s tough to get up on these holes and then, after waiting for that long, trying to stay in a rhythm,” he said. “I think that’s why I was able to stay in a rhythm as we got into the turn there at 9, 10, 11, we weren’t waiting.”
However, between Snedeker’s knack for coming from behind and his track record as a two-time winner at Pebble Beach, Spieth knows he’ll have to continue taking advantage of a soggy Pebble Beach.
“The course isn’t going to change much tomorrow, in my opinion. It’s just not getting hot enough, it’s still too early,” he said. “So it will be kind of dart-throwing contest again and who can make the putts. And Sneds has won here I think twice and I think we’re playing with him. He’s going to be somebody who can very easily, I mean, I say very easily, but he’s somebody who can go out there and shoot 7, 8 under tomorrow. So, I’ve got to set a goal and stay real patient, try not to make many mistakes, hit a lot of greens in regulation.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
