The Daily Wrap-up, Round 3: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Dustin Johnson followed his plan by overpowering the par 5s at Poppy Hills on Saturday for a 5-under 67, giving him a four-shot lead over Mike Weir heading into a final round of uncertainty at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Whether the 24-year-old Johnson is capable of winning for the second time in his last nine starts is not the issue.
The question is whether he gets to play.
Spots of sunshine returned to the Monterey Peninsula for the third straight day as the celebrities and their follies took over Pebble Beach, but the forecast is gloomy for the final round -- an 80 percent chance of rain, expected to be heavy at times.
Pebble Beach has not had a Monday finish since Tiger Woods' great rally in 2000, and it was 10 years ago this week when the late Payne Stewart birdied his final hole for a one-shot lead after 54 holes, which turned into victory when rain shortened the tournament.
Johnson appears to be in good shape either way.
Weir was plodding along at Spyglass Hill until he holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fifth hole, then hit the ball as well as he ever has. The former Masters champion hit a hybrid for his second shot to 8 feet on the sixth, a 3-wood to 6 feet on the par-3 seventh, and a 5-iron to 5 feet on the eighth. Trouble is, he missed all the putts.
But he knocked in a 20-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 69 that will put him in the last group Sunday.
Retief Goosen was not so fortunate. Even after opening the tournament with rounds of 68-64, the two-time U.S. Open champion was concerned about how poorly he was hitting the ball, especially off the tee. That caught up to him at Spyglass, where he shot a 74 to fall five shots behind.
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WEATHER COULD POSE A PROBLEM SUNDAY
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM Managing Editor
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Sunday's final-round weather forecast at Pebble Beach calls for rain to begin in the morning and last all day, along with some fairly high winds.
"Doesn't sound very good, does it?" said Mark Russell, PGA TOUR Vice President of Rules & Competition.
Depending on the weather, then, there's a chance the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am could be extended to a Monday finish ... or even a Tuesday finish, depending on circumstances.
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JOHNSON PROVING IT'S NOT ABOUT THE LONG BALL
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM Managing Editor
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Make no mistake: Dustin Johnson can pound it. But if you're thinking that he's just a one-trick pony, a big-shot artist who may overpower a course to win on occasion but won't be able to hold up when a delicate touch is required ... well, he's proving you wrong this week.
He stands on the verge of winning his second PGA TOUR event in just his 36th career start, and thus far, he's doing it in a rout, leading the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am by four strokes going into Sunday's final round.
But he's not doing it simply with power, even though he does lead in driving distance this week, the only player to average more than 300 yards off the tee. That statistic, however, is misleading, since it only takes into account the four recorded drives at Pebble Beach Golf Links and doesn't measure drives at the other two courses in the rotation.
This week has belonged to Johnson's irons, wedges and putter, not his driver. He has exhibited a deft flair, approaching the green, around the green and on the green.
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| Saturday's Best |
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The par-5 11th hole at Spyglass Hill was the easiest with a Saturday scoring average of 4.500.
The par-4 ninth at Pebble Beach was toughest with a Saturday scoring average of 4.508.
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Actor Greg Kinnear and sponsor invite Kevin Chappell each made memorable birdies, with Kinnear pitching it close and Chappell chipping in. 
Dustin Johnson had six birdies and just one bogey Saturday at Poppy Hills. That gave him a commanding lead heading to the final round. | QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||
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INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Bob Stevens offers these observations from Saturday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.com.
California native Charley Hoffman knows how fractious the weather can be off the coast of the Monterey Peninsula. After a strong finish Friday, he said he wouldn't play the last hole Saturday like it might be the last hole of the tournament -- but it would be in the back of his mind. It might have actually been closer to the front of his mind after he bogeyed two of the first three holes and fell to 6-under par.
You could almost draw a timeline on the third round, with all the scoring happening before 11:30 a.m. local time. Retief Goosen led Dustin Johnson by one before the winds kicked up. Goosen then dropped two shots after the weather turned foul. Johnson might deserve double credit for playing in 4 under during the afternoon winds. His play under those conditions literally blew away the field.
The best round of the entire week might have been Bob Estes' 67 at the always tough Spyglass. He was in the first group out and said he had to slog his way through the first few holes, even calling a rules official and getting a squeege job on the 12th green (his third hole of the day). His adventure continued when he needed to hit 5-wood into two par-4s on his second nine. A Texan who knows how to play in the wind, Estes kept his cool, literally, and took what Spyglass would give him.
| What the top finishers said... | ||||||||||||||||
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THIRD-ROUND NOTEBOOK: AT&T PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO-AM
By Joel Schuchmann, PGA TOUR Staff
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Three players made aces on Saturday. James Oh sank a 130-yard pitching wedge on the par-3 15th at Spyglass Hill, while Derek Fathauer holed his 54-degree wedge tee shot on the same hole. Also, Troy Mattesson sank a 170-yard 8-iron shot on the par-3 17th at Poppy Hills.
• Dustin Johnson, 24, is looking to become the seventh United States native currently in his 20s with multiple PGA TOUR victories (J.B. Holmes, Sean O'Hair, Anthony Kim, Nick Watney, Charles Howell III, D.J. Trahan). Johnson captured the Turning Stone Resort Championship last year in his rookie season, overcoming a two-stroke deficit in the final round to overtake 54-hole leaders Charles Howell III and Tag Ridings. Trahan (tied for sixth) and O'Hair (tied for 10th) head into Sunday's final round each looking for their third TOUR victories.
• Mike Weir birdied his final hole of the day at Spyglass to move to 11-under par and into solo second with three rounds in the 60s. He has six top-10s in 11 starts at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (tied for third in 2006, second in 2005, tied for fourth in 2004, tied for third in 2003, tied for eighth in 2001 and tied for seventh in 2000.)
• Johnson and Weir are the only two players in the field with the opportunity to post four rounds in the 60s.
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