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Pebble Beach National Pro-Am 2021: Jordan Spieth Leads Entering Final Round
February 13, 2021
Jordan Spieth is 18 holes away from his first PGA Tour win in over three years.
Spieth remains in sole possession of the lead at the 2021 Pebble Beach Pro-Am for the second straight day. His score of 13 under par is two shots ahead of a group of five players tied for second place.
It looked like Daniel Berger was going to be sitting alongside Spieth with both players heading to No. 18 at 13 under. Spieth made par to keep his score intact. Berger cost himself off the tee when his drive landed out of bounds. He wound up carding a seven on the par five, dropping his score to 11 under.
Here's the top of the leaderboard with 18 holes remaining from Pebble Beach, via PGATour.com:
1. Jordan Spieth (-13)
T2. Nate Lashley (-11)
T2. Tom Hoge (-11)
T2. Russell Knox (-11)
T2. Patrick Cantlay (-11)
T2. Daniel Berger (-11)
T7. Brian Stuard (-10)
T7. Maverick McNealy (-10)
T7. Jason Day (-10)
T7. Paul Casey (-10)
Berger was virtually flawless in the tournament prior to his gaffe on the final hole. He hit just two bogeys in 53 holes and had his second eagle in as many days Saturday. The Florida native's third-round eagle came on the par-four fourth hole:
That turned out to be the high-water mark of the round for Berger. He is still very much in the mix to win, but Saturday's closing sequence put a stain on what had been an otherwise terrific tournament.
Spieth took what was looking like a disappointing outing and turned it into a solid performance with his own eagle on No. 16. The 27-year-old seemed as if he were going to end the round over par and two shots off the lead, but he found the bottom of the cup from 160 yards out to get under par for the day:
The biggest problem for Spieth on Saturday was on the green. He cost himself 1.29 shots with the putter, but it didn't completely sink his overall game. That trend will likely have to get better Sunday if he wants to win.
Prior to the eagle, Spieth was playing the back nine at three over with bogeys on Nos. 10, 12 and 14.
Nate Lashley looked like he was going to be in the mix with Spieth for the lead heading into the final round. The 38-year-old was playing at six under for the day going onto No. 17. He had to three-putt the par-three hole to take his first bogey of the day.
Things snowballed for Lashley at No. 18 when his first three shots hit the rock outline, fairway bunker and greenside bunker. He finished the hole with a six, his first time bogeying a par five this weekend.
Despite the rough ending to his third round, Lashley's 68 was tied with seven other players for the second-lowest Saturday score.
Being in the lead heading into the final round hasn't been good for Spieth in recent years.
It was just last week that Spieth was tied for the lead after three rounds at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He finished with a 72 on Sunday to finish tied for fourth place, two shots behind Brooks Koepka.
Spieth is chasing his first win since the 2017 Open Championship. He hasn't posted a final-round score under 72 since the ZOZO Championship in October.