Brandt Snedeker (AP)
Snedeker ran off four straight birdies along the prettiest part of Pebble Beach for a 4-under 68, giving him a share of the lead with 31-year-old rookie James Hahn going into the final round of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
A runner-up in consecutive weeks to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, this time the spotlight belongs to Snedeker.
“You never know what tomorrow holds, but I feel like I’m in great position, and I’m going to be surely more prepared, no matter who is around me in the last group,” Snedeker said. “I’m probably going to have the most experience of anybody in those last couple groups of winning a golf tournament.”
Hahn had a 66 at Spyglass Hill, making birdie on the last three holes to join Snedeker at 12-under 202. Chris Kirk birdied his last hole at Monterey Peninsula for a 64 and was one shot behind the leaders.
For all the celebrity antics that are part of the Saturday show at Pebble Beach, the video most likely to go viral belonged to Mickelson. The defending champion took a spill on the rocks below the 18th fairway. Mickelson was looking to see if his tee shot could be found — and played — when his right foot gave way and he landed hard on his back side, bracing the fall with his hands.
“I got lucky,” Mickelson said. “I didn’t get hurt.”
Not physically, anyway. Mickelson hit his next shot into the Pacific Ocean and had to scramble for a triple bogey, leaving him 11 shots behind and ending his hopes of a record-tying fifth win at Pebble Beach.
Snedeker hasn’t had a better chance to win all year. He was seven shots behind Woods and six shots behind Mickelson going into the final round. Now he is tied with Hahn, who until now was best known for “Gangnam” celebration of his birdie on the 16th hole at the Phoenix Open.
“He’s been playing great golf these last couple of weeks ... and it looks like this could be his week,” Mickelson said of Snedeker. “But final round at Pebble Beach, a lot of things happen and he has to play one more good round. I know he has it in him, but he still has to go do it.”
Pebble Beach was simply majestic on Saturday, with a blazing sun shining across the Pacific coast and temperatures in the upper 50s.
Snedeker, who missed a pair of birdie putts inside 10 feet early in the round, began his big run with a 3-wood up the hill and onto the green at the par-5 sixth for a two-putt birdie. He followed with a 10-foot birdie on the seventh, and then hit two of his best shots on two of the toughest holes at Pebble — a 7-iron over a corner of the ocean to about 5 feet below the hole on the eighth, and a baby cut with an 8-iron that plopped down 4 feet away for a birdie on the ninth.
He didn’t make many putts the rest of the way, however, and had to settle for a 68.
Snedeker’s streak started with a 69-69 weekend on the South Course at Torrey Pines. In his last nine rounds, his average score is 67.8. The difference has been his driving, which went from a weakness to strength late last summer when he won the Tour Championship to capture the FedEx Cup.
He might be the hottest player in golf — except for winning.
“You want to win any time you have a chance because you don’t know how many times you’re going to get that in a year,” Snedeker said. “I’ve had a couple chances the last couple weeks— haven’t been the best chances. And this week, I have a great chance going into tomorrow. And you need to capitalize on those chances.”
Snedeker missed four birdie putts inside 10 feet, including the last two holes. He badly misjudged the break on an 8-foot birdie putt on the 17th and made a weak effort from 8 feet on the 18th hole.
“The last two really upset me because I felt like I really stayed patient all day and had done a great job and hit two great shots on the last couple of holes,” Snedeker said. “Those are the kind of putts you need to put some room between you and whoever else you’re going to be around.”
In this case, that would be Hahn, who seems to thrive in any environment.
If he was secure enough to do the “Gangnam Style” dance before the rowdiest gallery in golf, then he should be OK playing in the final group at Pebble Beach with a round that could severely change his career path. At stake are a two-year exemption and a trip to the Masters.
Hahn is not one to allow himself to think too far ahead.
“I’m not even in next week’s tournament, so to me, a top-10 finish would be great,” Hahn said. “So if you want to compare the Northern Trust Open to Augusta, we can. I would love to play another week out on tour, but just to learn from Brandt Snedeker, he’s one of the hottest golfers on the planet right now.”
Hahn isn’t one of those can’t-miss rookies. He’s only a year older than Snedeker, and took a far different path to the big leagues. He dropped out of California, and then took time off to work at an advertising agency, earned his realtor’s license and even sold shoes at Nordstrom’s.
He is 47-under par for the year, which includes a tie for fourth in the Humana Challenge.
“I feel like I’m playing well just because I feel comfortable,” he said. “You know, comfortable and having fun, that’s when I’m playing my best golf. ... I feel like my attitude on the golf course is better than it has been in recent years, and not getting so frustrated out there, just kind of enjoying the moment. I keep saying that, but it’s a blast to be inside the ropes and a member of the PGA Tour.”
DIVOTS: Mike Weir, who missed every cut last year, had four birdies on his last eight holes to make his second cut this year. ... Among those missing the cut were two-time Pebble winner Dustin Johnson, Padraig Harrington and Geoff Ogilvy. Ogilvy, who has not broken par in his last three events, is assured of missing the Match Play Championship. ... Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who played with Tiger Woods last year, is leading the pro-am with Jason Day as his partner. San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander were among those making the cut.
PEBBLE BEACH SCORES
Saturday
b-Pebble Beach GL; 6,816 yards; par 72
m-Monterey Peninsula CC, sore Course; 6,838 yards; par 70
s-Spyglass Hill GC; 6,953 yards; par 72
Third Round
Brandt Snedeker 66m-68s-68b—202
James Hahn 71b-65m-66s—202
Chris Kirk 71s-68b-64m—203
Patrick Reed 68s-69b-67m—204
Richard H. Lee 68m-71s-66b—205
Retief Goosen 71s-68b-67m—206
Robert Garrigus 71m-69s-66b—206
Jason Day 68m-68s-70b—206
James Driscoll 72m-67s-67b—206
Jimmy Walker 68m-71s-67b—206
Sean O’Hair 70b-67m-70s—207
Luke Guthrie 68b-70m-69s—207
Kevin Stadler 69b-69m-69s—207
Webb Simpson 71m-71s-65b—207
Fredrik Jacobson 71s-66b-70m—207
Ted Potter, Jr. 67b-67m-73s—207
Charlie Wi 70m-70s-68b—208
Hunter Mahan 66b-69m-73s—208
Alistair Presnell 68s-72b-68m—208
Matt Every 67b-70m-71s—208
William McGirt 72s-69b-67m—208
Kevin Na 68s-72b-68m—208
Russell Knox 64m-73s-71b—208
Billy Horschel 70s-71b-67m—208
Patrick Cantlay 66m-70s-72b—208
Jordan Spieth 70m-70s-68b—208
Bill Lunde 71s-70b-68m—209
Aaron Baddeley 69s-71b-69m—209
Scott Brown 72b-68m-69s—209
John Merrick 68b-67m-74s—209
Justin Hicks 71s-68b-70m—209
Chez Reavie 70b-72m-68s—210
Josh Teater 70m-72s-68b—210
Vijay Singh 72b-72m-66s—210
Scott Gardiner 73s-69b-68m—210
Brian Harman 68m-73s-70b—211
Lee Westwood 68b-70m-73s—211
Brendon de Jonge 67m-71s-73b—211
Heath Slocum 69b-71m-71s—211
Mike Weir 75b-65m-71s—211
Ryuji Imada 65m-73s-73b—211
Scott Langley 65m-77s-69b—211
John Mallinger 68m-75s-69b—212
Nick O’Hern 70b-66m-76s—212
Cameron Tringale 71s-71b-70m—212
Stuart Appleby 70b-71m-71s—212
Bob Estes 69s-71b-72m—212
Jason Bohn 71b-70m-71s—212
Peter Tomasulo 71m-75s-66b—212
Seung-Yul Noh 67s-73b-72m—212
Jim Furyk 75s-69b-68m—212
Pat Perez 69m-69s-74b—212
Bryce Molder 71m-72s-69b—212
Kelly Kraft 69m-71s-72b—212
Ken Duke 71s-72b-69m—212
Doug LaBelle II 69s-75b-69m—213
J.B. Holmes 72s-70b-71m—213
Rod Pampling 71m-70s-72b—213
Phil Mickelson 69m-71s-73b—213
J.J. Henry 72s-71b-70m—213
Brian Stuard 69b-72m-72s—213
Tim Clark 76s-67b-70m—213
Brad Fritsch 69m-73s-71b—213
Troy Kelly 73b-68m-72s—213
Sam Saunders 76s-71b-66m—213
Jeff Maggert 67m-73s-73b—213
Cameron Percy 74b-68m-71s—213
Matt Jones 69s-72b-72m—213
Greg Owen 65m-75s-73b—213
Kevin Streelman 69b-69m-75s—213
Failed to qualify
Tag Ridings 69m-72s-73b—214
Ryan Palmer 72m-73s-69b—214
Alexandre Rocha 72b-72m-70s—214
Vaughn Taylor 70s-74b-70m—214
Steven Bowditch 76b-68m-70s—214
Morgan Hoffmann 70b-72m-72s—214
Henrik Norlander 71b-72m-71s—214
Joe Durant 71b-69m-74s—214
Ben Kohles 69b-72m-73s—214
Camilo Villegas 67m-75s-72b—214
Charlie Beljan 69s-75b-70m—214
D.A. Points 68m-76s-70b—214
Casey Wittenberg 70s-73b-71m—214
Jerry Kelly 73m-73s-69b—215
Justin Bolli 70m-75s-70b—215
Lee Williams 66m-76s-73b—215
Padraig Harrington 72s-71b-72m—215
Kevin Chappell 74b-70m-71s—215
Jason Kokrak 70b-72m-73s—215
Kevin Sutherland 70b-68m-78s—216
Woody Austin 75s-69b-72m—216
Erik Compton 71m-72s-73b—216
Jason Gore 71s-72b-73m—216
Jeff Gove 69b-71m-76s—216
Shawn Stefani 72b-68m-76s—216
Steve LeBrun 74s-74b-68m—216
Tommy Gainey 71s-70b-75m—216
Dustin Johnson 73m-69s-74b—216
Chris Stroud 78b-67m-71s—216
Todd Hamilton 71s-73b-72m—216
Jim Herman 71s-70b-76m—217
Dicky Pride 69b-74m-74s—217
Robert Karlsson 74b-70m-73s—217
Daniel Summerhays 74m-73s-70b—217
Geoff Ogilvy 73s-74b-70m—217
Eric Meierdierks 68m-74s-75b—217
Ricky Barnes 71m-74s-72b—217
Darron Stiles 72b-73m-72s—217
Cameron Beckman 70b-74m-74s—218
Andres Romero 74b-70m-74s—218
Arjun Atwal 69b-76m-73s—218
Nathan Green 72s-76b-70m—218
Andrew Svoboda 75m-70s-73b—218
Donald Constable 74s-72b-72m—218
Tim Petrovic 68m-75s-75b—218
Brendon Todd 68m-72s-78b—218
Nicholas Thompson 73s-76b-69m—218
Neal Lancaster 67m-75s-76b—218
Steve Flesch 75b-69m-75s—219
Jin Park 73m-74s-72b—219
Rory Sabbatini 74s-75b-70m—219
Matt Bettencourt 71m-76s-72b—219
Robert Streb 73s-74b-72m—219
Si Woo Kim 75s-72b-72m—219
Nick Watney 68m-75s-76b—219
Roberto Castro 71b-75m-73s—219
Bobby Gates 76s-72b-71m—219
Billy Mayfair 73s-77b-70m—220
Chris Riley 73m-74s-73b—220
Fabian Gomez 73b-71m-76s—220
Michael Letzig 73s-78b-69m—220
Lee Janzen 77s-71b-72m—220
Chris DiMarco 72b-76m-72s—220
Michael Bradley 73m-76s-71b—220
John Daly 77b-70m-73s—220
Johnson Wagner 71s-75b-74m—220
Derek Ernst 74s-73b-75m—222
Scott McCarron 75s-72b-75m—222
David Duval 79s-73b-70m—222
Alex Cejka 70b-75m-77s—222
Gary Christian 75b-71m-76s—222
Rafael Cabrera Bello 73s-79b-70m—222
Bret Nutt 74m-78s-70b—222
Brian Davis 73b-76m-73s—222
Joe Ogilvie 76b-74m-74s—224
Aaron Watkins 78s-76b-70m—224
Billy Andrade 79s-75b-70m—224
D.J. Trahan 73b-77m-74s—224
Steve Marino 77b-74m-74s—225
Harris English 75m-75s-75b—225
David Lingmerth 70m-75s-81b—226
Tom Gillis 71m-81s-75b—227
Andres Gonzales 77b-74m-77s—228
Luke List 73m-76s-81b—230
Mitch Lowe 77b-77m-76s—230
Paul Haley II 78s-82b-74m—234
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