Rose leads Pebble Beach Pro-Am with round to play

England’s Justin Rose burst to the top of the leaderboard at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Monday as the delayed third round of the event was completed.

Justin Rose during round one at Torrey Pines.
Photo: Photosport

Rose finished his third round at Monterey Peninsula Country Club with a 6-under-par 65, taking him to 12 under for the tournament and giving him a one-shot lead heading into the final round, which was scheduled to start later Sunday.

Peter Malnati and Kurt Kitayama were tied for second place at 11 under, while Keith Mitchell was in fourth place at 10 under. Malnati fired a 5-under 67 in the third round at Pebble Beach, Kitayama shot a 2-under 70 at Spyglass Hill and Mitchell shot a 2-under 70 at Pebble.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers won the amateur portion of the event, shooting a 54-hole score of 26-under par 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.

The final round for the PGA Tour pros will be played exclusively on the famed Pebble Beach course. Players are likely to complete as many as nine holes in the final round, with a Monday finish scheduled.

High winds suspended Saturday’s third round, with one of the biggest issues coming when golf balls on the ninth green at Monterey Peninsula were not staying in place on the putting surface. Rose was part of that group and had his approach, which he hit to 3 feet, blown to 7 feet before he could mark his ball.

Rose returned Sunday to make his 7-foot putt at No. 9 for a birdie, waited out yet another weather issue with a hail storm, then went 5 under on the back nine, including an eagle 3 on the par 5 16th hole.

“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.”

Rose is a 10-time winner on the PGA Tour but has not raised a trophy since the Farmers Insurance Open in January 2019.

A total of 16 golfers were within five shots of the lead through three rounds, including a group of five tied for fifth place at 9 under. One member of that group was Norway’s Viktor Hovland, who shot a 3-under 69 in the third round at Pebble Beach, where he won the U.S. Amateur in 2018.

– Reuters