PEBBLE BEACH – Phil Mickelson birdied the 18th hole Monday morning to finish with a final-round 65 and win the weather-delayed AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Mickelson and his playing partner, England’s Paul Casey, were the only players still on the course early Sunday evening when play was suspended, with Mickelson holding a three-shot lead at 18-under par. Bad weather accounted for more than three hours of delays on Sunday, leaving them two holes to finish in the morning.

But the wait was worth it for Mickelson and Casey, the third-round leader, who finished in second place.

It was the 44th career win for Mickelson, who has won the tournament on the famed course in Pebble Beach five times.

“It’s been a very special week,” Mickelson, 48, said in post-tournament comments. “This is a special place for me.”

Casey also made his birdie putt at 18 to finish his final round at 71 and take sole possession of second place.

Mickelson, riding a wave of momentum, wanted to finish Sunday night despite the dark skies, but Casey objected.

“I thanked Paul this morning for having us finish in the morning because I get sometimes in my own little bubble and don’t see the big picture,” he said. “The greens were beat up. We had a chance to come out today on fresh greens, better weather and be able to see a lot better. I was very appreciative of that.”

CARMEL – England’s Paul Casey took control of the leaderboard Saturday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, posting a 5-under 67 at Spyglass Hill Golf Course for a three-shot lead over Phil Mickelson after three rounds.

Casey, 41, took the lead midway through his round Saturday, draining a long birdie putt on the par-4 ninth to move ahead of the field and turn at 2 under on the front. He got up and down for birdie at the par-5 11th, followed by birdies at 14 and 15 before finishing with three straight pars and a 15-under 200 total.

“You know when I played the first two tournaments in Hawaii to start the season, I was almost going through the motions trying to find my game, and in Singapore the juices were going,” said Casey, who finished tied for 16th at the season-opening Tournament of Champions, missed the cut at the Sony Open, but followed up with a second-place finish in Singapore the following week. 

“Already this week, I feel like because of that, I’m playing better. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, I want another win. I’ve made that fairly clear this year, so I want to give myself as many opportunities as I can this season, and I’m already giving myself one this week.” 

Casey, No. 56 in the FedEx Cup standings, started the day in a four-way tie for the lead with Mickelson, Scott Langley and Lucas Glover after posting the low round of the day Friday with a 7-under 64 at Monterey Peninsula Country Club.

Mickelson, who shot a 2-under 70 and is alone in second place at 12 under, struggled through 10 holes at Pebble Beach. The 48-year-old balanced bogeys at Nos. 1, 5, 9 and 10 with birdies at 2, 4 and 6. He recovered some momentum thanks to a short birdie putt at the par-4 13th, followed by an eagle-3 on the par-5 14th after his fairway approach shot landed 3 feet from the hole.

“I actually thought it was a successful round,” said Mickelson, a four-time winner of the event. “It was difficult out there, especially around the turn there at (holes) 8, 9, 10. That was really the only point where I had a couple of bogeys and it was very difficult, but I was able to come back with a few birdies when it cleared up, and I thought anything in the 60s was going to be a heck of a round. I was one shy, but I’ve got a good chance going into tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it.”

Glover, who is tied for third at 11 under with American Scott Piercy (69, Spyglass), gutted out a 1-under 70 at Monterey Peninsula on Saturday despite four bogeys on his card. He started on the back side, posting a string of four straight birdies on holes 14-17 that kept him in the hunt. A birdie at No. 8, his 17th hole of the day, put him briefly into a tie with Mickelson for second place, but a bogey on the par-3 ninth dropped him back into a tie for third.

Piercy had four birdies and one bogey in his round.

Tied for fifth at 10 under were Americans Brian Gay (69, Pebble Beach) and Matt Every (69, Pebble Beach).

Jordan Spieth, who started the third round one shot behind the leaders, posted a 2-over 74 at Pebble Beach and fell back to a tie for 18th place at 7 under.

Casey, who shot 3-under 69 on Thursday at Pebble Beach, will tee it up at Pebble on Sunday in an effort to secure his third PGA Tour win since joining the tour in 2004. He won the 2018 Valspar Championship last March, beating Patrick Reed and Tiger Woods by a shot in the final round. His first PGA victory was at the 2009 Shell Houston Open. He has 14 international titles on his resume.

“It’s gonna (take) good ball striking, although I feel like my ball-striking has not been my best this week,” said Casey, who actually made his professional debut at Pebble Beach 18 years ago. “The mowing patterns are already in place for the U.S. Open it looks like, so the fairways typically are a little bit more narrow than we would see it for an AT&T. 

“Obviously it’s wet, thick rough out there, so ball striking is premium. Keep the ball below the hole, and then it’s really just patience, manage yourself. The greens are a little bit bumpy with all the traffic we get on them, all the moisture we’ve had on them. I need to continue to putt well, that’s been kind of the real key to my good play the first three days. Do those two things, and I should be alright.”

Mickelson, whose last AT&T win was in 2012, has finished runner-up twice in the last three years (2016, 2018). For his part, he admits that while experience is on his side, he will keep a close eye on not only Casey, but also the players in front of him on Sunday.

“I just have to play a good solid round and make a move,” he said. “Usually the winner comes from groups in front of the last group, so it will be a challenge for us to keep pace. Obviously Paul is playing some great golf, so he’ll be tough to catch no matter what, but I just need to shoot a good solid round in the mid 60s.” 

–Field Level Media

PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: Waste Management Open (Rickie Fowler)
THIS WEEK: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Feb. 7-10
Pebble Beach, Calif. (Pebble Beach GL – Par 72, 6,816 yards; Spyglass Hill GC – Par 72, 6,960 yards; Monterey Peninsula GC-Shore – Par 71, 6,958 yards)

Purse: $7.6 million (Winner: $1.368M and 500 FedEx Cup points)
Defending champion: Ted Potter Jr.
Current FedEx Cup leader: Xander Schauffele
Television: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS); Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6:30 p.m. (CBS).
The 2019 U.S. Open will be conducted at Pebble Beach for the sixth time in June. … Korean Ho Sung Choi, whose unique “Fisherman Swing” has made him an internet sensation, will make his PGA Tour debut. The 45-year-old turned pro at age 27 and won on the Korean Tour for the first time in 2008. He says the unique swing first came about while swinging out of deep rough in a 2013 tournament. … Dustin Johnson (2) and Phil Mickelson (4) have won a combined six titles at Pebble Beach. Johnson, who won in Saudi Arabia last week, is the only Top 10 player in the field. … Defending champion Larry Fitzgerald and quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan are among the NFL players in the Pro-Am field. … European Ryder Cup star Tommy Fleetwood will make his Pebble Beach debut. … Jordan Spieth was ranked No. 3 entering the tournament last year. He is currently No. 21.
NEXT WEEK: Genesis Open, Los Angeles

PEBBLE BEACH – (Staff Report) – Ted Potter Jr. kept a steady pace in the final round of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and won the tournament with pro football great Larry Fitzgerald at his side the entire way.

Embed from Getty Images

Ted Potter Jr. with the Pebble Beach Trophy as Larry Fitzgerald looks on

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Prior to the PGA Tour event, Potter was ranked 246th in the world, playing against a top ranked tour roster which included Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Phil Mickelson among the top ten leader board.

Potter secured the win with a stretch of four birdies over six holes, including a 20-foot chip-in at the par-three seventh, as he posted a three-under-par 69 at majestic Pebble Beach.