Jordan Spieth is among a large group of players sat six shots back of Akshay Bhatia heading into the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Sunday.
At one stage during Saturday’s third round at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, it appeared that Akshay Bhatia would open up an unassailable lead. However, two bogeys on the back nine for the left-hander have left the door ever so slightly open.
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Collin Morikawa, Sepp Straka and Jake Knapp are Bhatia’s closest rivals.
Meanwhile, the likes of Ben Griffin, Shane Lowry, Xander Schauffele, and Jordan Spieth are some of the names currently on 13 under par, six shots off the lead with 18 holes to play at Pebble Beach.
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It is going to be asking an awful lot for any of those tied for 11th to make a charge on Sunday.
But speaking on CBS Sports after the conclusion of the third round, Trevor Immelman insisted that the weather brings several of those big names into contention.
“It opens it up, because you have guys who have the opportunity now who could be five, six back who can go out there and have the round of their careers and shoot something in the mid to low 60s, and all of a sudden leapfrog everybody,” he said.
“That’s what Morikawa did today, so why couldn’t it happen on the Sunday? So I’m going back down to 13 under, there’s some high quality players at that number. I’m thinking about Lowry, Spieth, Schauffele, Ben Griffin shot a 65 today. If they can go out and post something early; gosh, you just have to look back at the last 45 minutes or so to see how these guys played the finishing hole with that wind just buffeting them off the ocean.
“Really anything could happen tomorrow, and that’s why I’m looking forward to watching.”
Why Collin Morikawa may be the favourite on Sunday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
As Immelman notes, Morikawa made such an impressive move up the standings on Saturday in California. The two-time major champion posted a 62 in the third round to leave himself within touching distance of Bhatia.
It is more than two years since Morikawa won on the PGA Tour. But Immelman spotted signs in his performance that suggest that he is ready to end that wait for a victory in the coming hours.
“His iron play, that’s really been the hallmark of his career, great, accurate iron play. Today, when you look at it statistically, this is his 501st PGA Tour round of golf, and statistically, the best one he’s ever played. Just absolutely flushed it, and then go ahead and make some putts on top of that. What a round of golf, 62, and now all of a sudden, he has got a shot to win again,” he said.
“It’s been a little while, the fall of ’23 was the last win for him, so he’s going to be pumped to have this opportunity, because it’s been tough sledding for Collin. As you say, he’s been searching a little bit, trying to find a little spark for his game. He found it today, and it’s going to be fun to watch him play in the final round, particularly if the conditions get really nasty. He has that ability with the shotmaking with the irons.”
Morikawa came incredibly close to winning in the early stages of 2025. He finished second at both The Sentry and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
From there, his momentum really stalled. He registered just one top 10 after The Masters for the remainder of the year. That came at the Rocket Classic.
Whatever happens on Sunday, Morikawa will be desperate for this performance to be the start of a real upturn in his fortunes.
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