Akshay Bhatia holds a two-stroke lead after the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, tied with Collin Morikawa, Jake Knapp and Sepp Straka at the top. Morikawa delivered his best ball-striking performance of his career, carding a 10-under 62 despite a bogey. Strong winds and rain are forecast for the final round, setting up a test of mental and physical resilience.
The third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am unfolded under mostly favorable conditions until late, when gusting winds disrupted play on the 18th green. Min Woo Lee stepped away multiple times from his par putt as his ball oscillated, describing the moment: “I understand I have to hit the putt, but when the ball is full oscillating, it’s just hard to pull the trigger.”
Ryo Hisatsune and leader Akshay Bhatia also faced challenges on the same hole, missing makeable putts in calmer air. Bhatia, who settled for bogey, explained: “You're trying to make a good stroke and then you're trying to make sure you kind of hopefully get the ball to start somewhere near the hole. So again, I was happy to make 5 there.” He led by as many as five strokes earlier but enters Sunday two ahead of Morikawa, Knapp and Straka. Bhatia added a philosophical note: “It's part of golf, you know?”
Collin Morikawa capitalized on calmer morning conditions, hitting all 18 greens in regulation and gaining 6.45 strokes on approach—his best as a professional. The 62, which included one bogey, vaulted him into second place and drew a rare smile. Morikawa, winless since 2023, reflected: “The results matter sometimes and for me in this world after the past, you know, year, three years, whatever you want to call it, I just haven't had the results I've wanted.” He continued: “I'm out here to win. When you finish 30th, 15th, third, at the end of the day like I want to win. I've got to set that mindset at the beginning of the day, at the beginning of the week and now I think we've given ourselves at least a chance come tomorrow.”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler posted a bogey-free 5-under 68, moving up 12 spots to tie for 22nd, three shots outside the top 10. His streak of 17 consecutive top-10 finishes remains intact, though he downplayed it: “I mean, I think 17 straight top 10s is a good result from a lot of consistent play. Outside of that, I could not care any less.”
Forecast winds of 30-35 mph and heavy rain promise chaos on Sunday, with Morikawa warning: “It’s going to suck.” The final round will demand control of both ball trajectory and emotions, shifting the tournament toward survival after three days of low scoring.
