Sepp Straka acquired most of his work performed earlier than the climate began to show Friday within the AT&T Pebble Seaside Professional-Am, posting one other 7-under 65 for a three-shot lead that left Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and everybody having to chase him.
Straka, coming off a win two weeks in the past within the California desert, confirmed a recreation that works simply superb at sea stage in less-than-ideal situations, significantly the ultimate hour.
Out got here the mittens and beanies. Down got here the temperature, accompanied by somewhat rain.
McIlroy went from difficult for the result in making 4 bogeys in a six-hole stretch, earlier than he completed his wild again 9 at Pebble Seaside with a 25-foot eagle putt to salvage a 70 that left him six pictures behind.
Scheffler took a stroll down the seaside on the 18th gap, turning a possible bogey right into a par when he hopped down a pair of rock ledges to the sandy soil, managed to get his ball again into play and hit 6-iron to the inexperienced. He shot 70 and was seven behind.
Andrew Novak acquired his first victory on the PGA Tour, which comes with a plaque on the wall off the primary tee, not a visit to the Masters. Novak teamed with billionaire investor Philippe Laffont to win the pro-am.
The weekend at Pebble Seaside is just for the 79 execs — Ludvig Aberg needed to withdraw with an sickness that affected him final week at Torrey Pines — and for the hardiest of gamers.
Gusts approaching 30 mph are within the forecast, together with spots of rain. Pebble Seaside, that felicitous assembly of land and sea, is a beast in nasty climate.
“Went from zero to about 20 miles an hour fairly rapidly,” Straka mentioned of his last 4 holes at Pebble Seaside, which together with lacking a 3-foot par putt on the sixteenth for his solely bogey of the spherical, and a 4-iron into 30 toes for a two-putt birdie on the final.
He was at 14-under 130, three pictures forward of Russell Henley, who had a 69 at Pebble Seaside, and Cam Davis of Australia, who had a 68 at Spyglass Hill.
“It is going to change Pebble so much,” mentioned Tony Finau, who had a 67 at Spyglass Hill and was in a big group at 10-under 134.
“It is unlucky as a result of Pebble is pure proper now, actually pure. The ball is bouncing and anytime that’s the case at Pebble, I believe it’s fairly magical to play. We’ll have to regulate, simply adapt as we do out right here and we’ll simply have to do this on the weekend.”
McIlroy was magnificent with the motive force and did not get a lot out of it. Nonetheless, he opened with 4 birdies in seven holes — the scoring stretch at Pebble — till he missed the inexperienced on the par-3 twelfth, hit it heavy out of fairway bunker on the thirteenth and was out of place off the tee on the fifteenth and sixteenth holes, all resulting in bogey.
His spherical ended with an eagle, and he was nonetheless within the combine.
Scheffler, in a 2025 debut delayed by minor surgical procedure on his proper hand for a freak puncture wound whereas making ravioli, ran off three straight birdies, together with a shot to 2 toes on the powerful eighth gap. That was the final of his birdies, nevertheless it was the par that saved him.
He pulled his tee shot left on the par-5 18th towards the most important water hazard in golf. Scheffler did not see the ball carom off the rocks or splash within the Pacific Ocean. His solely choice was to go ahead to the tip of the tee field, so he opted to stroll 300 yards and have a look.
He noticed a golf ball on the seaside — it was his — and was capable of transfer sufficient small rocks and seaweed to advance that to the golf green and make par.
“The unpredictability was probably the most tough half,” Scheffler mentioned. “After the tee ball, I undoubtedly would have taken a par, no complaints.”
Not many from Straka, both, who would look like driving some momentum from his victory in The American Categorical. He attributes a lot of that to a slight change in his placing, going to a skinnier grip and transferring his fingers barely larger.
“Palm Springs was the primary time in a very long time I felt that I had 4 actually good placing rounds in a row,” Straka mentioned. “Yeah, I believe that’s undoubtedly made an enormous distinction.”
However he pulled again when he was requested if was on an enormous run.
“A six-round run,” he mentioned. “I imply, no, I’d not classify that as a run. I believe Scottie Scheffler is on a run.”
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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