Justin Rose of England charged in front at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but instead of a standard Sunday finish, his attempt to return to the winner’s circle will have to wait until Monday.
Rose followed up a third-round 65 by going 3 under on the front nine of Pebble Beach Golf Links to own a two-shot lead when play was suspended Sunday night in Pebble Beach, Calif.
The tournament was postponed midway through Saturday’s third round due to high winds, leading to the Monday morning finish. The Golf Channel broadcast said 27 players had yet to finish their final rounds.
At 15 under, Rose is two strokes ahead of Denny McCarthy, Brendon Todd and Peter Malnati. The former major champion was on the 10th hole when play was suspended, and he opted to return to finish the hole Monday.
Rose awoke Sunday six shots off the pace but finished his third round at Monterey Peninsula Country Club with three birdies on the back nine and an eagle at the par-5 16th hole to post a 6-under 65. The field played one round apiece at Monterey Peninsula, Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill before a 54-hole cut.
Rose had to wait out yet another weather issue at Monterey, a hail storm, before his hot finish there.
“Just as we got going it was like, ‘What else can be thrown at us this week?'” Rose said. “But once the hail came out, it began to feel more pleasant out there. The sun started poking through and with a westerly breeze, we caught a huge break, no doubt. … The putter got hot there for a while, and it was fun to take advantage.”
At Pebble on Sunday afternoon, Rose bogeyed the first hole but bounced back with a birdie at the par-5 second. At the par-5 sixth, he landed his second shot just 8 feet from the cup to set up an eagle putt, and he birdied the following hole, a par 3, from nearly 18 feet to reach 15 under for the tournament.
Rose is a 10-time winner on the PGA Tour but has not raised a trophy since the Farmers Insurance Open in January 2019.
McCarthy was 7 under through 15 holes, Todd was 5 under through 12 and Malnati was 2 under through 9 when play was suspended Sunday. McCarthy rolled in seven birdies on the front nine to go out in 7-under 29. Consecutive bogeys at Nos. 13 and 14 dropped him back a bit.
The leader in the clubhouse was also the man responsible for the lowest fourth round so far. Canada’s Taylor Pendrith finished an 8-under 64 before the suspension of play to get to 12 under, currently good for a tie for fifth with Beau Hossler, Keith Mitchell and Brandon Wu.
Pendrith signed a bogey-free card with eight birdies, five on the front nine. He played the par-5 18th conservatively as the sun set and two-putted for par.
“I hit 3-iron off the tee this morning (in the third round),” Pendrith told the Golf Channel broadcast. “It was cold and raining. Also, haven’t really been driving it my best, and it’s a tough tee shot no matter what circumstance you’re in. Still could have made birdie with a 3-iron off the tee. It’s just a tight tee shot. It was dark, cold, windy. … Overall I’m happy.”
Earlier in the day, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers won the amateur portion of the event, shooting a 54-hole score of 26 under with PGA Tour partner Ben Silverman of Canada. The team victory came despite Silverman not making the cut on the professional side of the event at 1-over par through three rounds.
–Field Level Media