Justin Rose on course for 11th PGA Tour title at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
With nine holes left of the final round, Justin Rose holds a two-shot lead over three players in pursuit of his first win on the PGA Tour in four years.
Justin Rose will take a two-shot lead into the final nine holes of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Monday after the weather-delayed event finally draws to a conclusion.
Despite bogeying the first hole of round four on Sunday, Rose bounced back with a birdie straight after and hit one of the shots of the week from a fairway bunker on the par-5 6th hole.
The approach to this green is protected by a staggering cliff top, but the Englishman hit a low, draw with a 4-iron from the sand to set up an eagle chance from eight feet.
"You got to strike it. You know that if you catch it half an inch fat, you could be in the ravine dropping and making all sorts of trouble there," Rose said afterwards.
"So, yeah, I was really just focused on putting the ball in the middle of my stance, making sure I hit the back of the ball. Obviously for it to climb up there to six feet was, there's a little element of a nice hop, skip, and a bounce up there obviously."
17-footer at the next to take the solo lead pic.twitter.com/n5H1hgHBos
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 6, 2023
This took him to 14-under and he rolled in a 17-footer on the par-3 7th hole to take the outright lead on 15-under. Rose is in the hunt for his 11th PGA Tour win and his first since the Farmers Insurance Open in 2019.
The 42-year-old won the US Open in 2013 and he came third at the event at Pebble Beach in 2019. This potential victory will have a very different feel with his last round being cut in half overnight.
Denny McCarthy had an incredible front nine in California on Sunday. He carded seven birdies to reach 13-under and he propelled himself into contention. He finished on this score when darkness halted play and he has just three holes left to close the gap to Rose later today.
"I just kind of pieced everything together. I didn't really have my best stuff the first few rounds, but scraped a couple of 3-unders out of both of those first couple rounds," McCarthy said.
"Like I said, I've actually played some of my best golf at Monterey Peninsula and shot even par. Just didn't really quite get the putts to go."
McCarthy was ranked second in strokes gained in putting on the Tour in 2022, and he certainly got it rolling on Sunday. He is looking for his maiden Tour title.
Brendon Todd and Peter Malnati are also two shots back on 13-under. Viktor Hovland hasn't been able to make significant progress in round four with two birdies and two bogeys in 11 holes. He is six shots behind and would seem too far out of touch.
