The Starter: Rd. 4, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

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Feb. 15, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

The first group will soon tee off in today's final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
12:45 pm ET (9:45 am local)		Dustin Johnson, Mike Weir (Pebble Beach, No. 1) Can big bomber Johnson wrap up his second victory? Can wily veteran Weir earn his ninth triumph playing small ball? Track 'em
12:15 pm ET (9:15 am local)		Phil Mickelson, Jimmy Walker, Rick Price, Matt Jones (Pebble Beach, No. 10) Mickelson's posted rounds of 72, 71 and 71. He's got to get hot at some point, doesn't he? Could it be on Sunday? Track 'em
11:45 am ET (8:45 am local)		Vaughn Taylor, Charley Hoffman, Ted Purdy (Pebble Beach, No. 1) Taylor played well in a Saturday 69, while Hoffman struggled to a 74. Can either or both finish strong enough to grab a top-10? Track 'em

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR Network on-site correspondent Mark Carnevale gives his observations on Saturday's third round and looks ahead to Sunday's final round:

Advantage, Pebble: It certainly appears that those players who played Pebble Beach Golf Links in either the first or second round had the advantage this week. Only two players who played Pebble Beach on Saturday are in the top 20: Kevin Chappell (68) and Charley Hoffman (74). Now it's back to all square as the low 60 and ties will all be playing at Pebble in Round 4.

Sunday's forecast

Partly cloudy
Temp: 58 high/49 low
80 percent chance of rain throughout the day. Winds up to 24 mph will come out of the south-southeast.

Tough sledding: Boy, was it tough at Pebble on Saturday. There was almost calm before the storm. Early on, conditions were pretty favorable and there was good scoring, but once the group I was following, Hoffman and Will MacKenzie, got through the par-3 seventh, all hell broke loose. On consecutive holes, Nos. 9 and 10, each player found the hazard right of the green and struggled.

It was tough to club shots, tough to flight them and even more difficult putting as the wind played havoc on the greens. Players looked a lot like some of the celebrities they were paired with on Saturday. Puzzled would be the word I would use. Robert Garrigus came to the 18th hole, his ninth of the day, at 8 under par. He made a snowman (8) there, went on to shoot 77 and finds himself at 3 under par, 12 shots back.

What about Weir?: With conditions appearing to be as bad or worse for the final round, I would be hard-pressed to think Dustin Johnson would falter after his consistency this week, shooting rounds of (65, 69 and 67). But if I were you, I'd pay attention to Mike Weir. Mike has six top-10s in 11 starts here, and gained experience from 2006, when a poor performance on Sunday prevented him from winning. He eventually tied for third.

Dress warmly and hope for the best: Either way, Sunday will be an exciting day. I will have my waterproofs on, hand warmers in my pocket and my fingers crossed that we are able to get the final round finished. If not, aw shucks, just one more day in one of the most beautiful places on this earth.

The one stat(s) you need to know

Mike Weir and Dustin Johnson are the only two players to post three straight rounds in the 60s so far this week. Johnson also leads the field in Driving Distance with an average of 288 yards per drive, while Weir is 41st in Driving Distance with an average of 262.3 yards per drive.

Thus far at Pebble Beach

Round	Leader	Low round (par 72)	Key links
	Dustin Johnson, Robert Garrigus (-7)	65: Dustin Johnson, Robert Garrigus	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report McAllister column \| Notebook
	Retief Goosen (-12)	64: Retief Goosen	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report McAllister column \| Notebook
	Dustin Johnson (-15)	67: Five players	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report McAllister column \| Notebook

The Film Room

	PGA TOUR Today Win McMurry updates action from the third round of the 2009 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and previews what to watch for in the final round. Watch it
	Shot of the day Greg Kinnear and Kevin Chappell share a couple of fantastic shots on Celebrity Day at the 2009 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Watch it
	Dissecting Dustin's day A 5-under 67 at Poppy Hills gave Dustin Johnson a four-stroke advantage after three rounds. Afterward, Johnson spoke with Fred Albers from the PGA TOUR Network on SIRIUS XM Radio. Watch it