Spieth running away at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Notes and observations from Saturday’s third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am. Jordan Spieth has a commanding six-shot lead after his second consecutive 65. For more coverage, click here for the Daily Wrap-up. SPIETH IN CONTROL Jordan Spieth. Six-shot lead. One round left. Done deal, right? You’d think so. The six-shot advantage is Spieth’s largest 54-hole lead in his PGA TOUR career. Of his 11 previous 54-hole leads, only twice has Spieth been the solo leader and not gone on to win. Both times, those were one-shot leads heading into Sunday – the 2015 Shell Houston Open and the 2016 Masters. The world’s sixth-ranked player seemed to take all the drama out of the final round at Pebble Beach by shooting his second-consecutive 65 of this week. The six-shot advantage is the second largest 54-hole lead in tournament history. Spieth just has to cruise in from here. His biggest challenge? “Not getting too frustrated,” he replied. “Recognizing these greens are very tough to putt and from inside 10 feet, there are going to be mistakes that are made. … Staying really patient and staying focused on a goal. “Telling myself, ‘Hey, I’m not sure what it’s going to be, it might be 3 under, it might be 4 under tomorrow. But staying really focused on I’m challenging my goal, not looking at anybody else. That’s the toughest part tomorrow.” If Spieth putts anywhere close to what he did Saturday, he’ll be a runaway winner. He only needed 23 putts Saturday, as he one-putted nine of his last 10 holes. From inside 20 feet, he made 18 of 20 putts. “I couldn’t have asked for a better putting day,” he said. SNEDS, DJ LEAD CHASERS Having a couple of two-time AT&T Pebble Beach winners among his closest competitors should keep Spieth somewhat honest. Brandt Snedeker, in solo second at 11 under, can get hot with the putter at any time. He shot a final-round 65 to win here in 2013 and a final-round 67 to win again two years later. “He’s somebody who can go out there and shoot 7-, 8-under tomorrow,” Spieth said. Snedeker knows he’ll need to make up ground quickly. On Saturday, he shot a 6-under 30 on Pebble Beach’s opening nine holes (they were his final nine since he started his round off the 10th tee). “The front nine will be huge tomorrow, the first seven holes” he said. “I got to go out there and make some birdies and put some pressure on him. If you don’t get the first seven holes at Pebble, you’re going to have a long day, so I know what I have to do. … We’re going to have some fun but I’m definitely going to put some pressure on him.” Dustin Johnson, who won consecutive titles here in 2009 and 2010, is tied for third at 10 under. He comes off a bogey-free 66 at Pebble Beach. Unlike the first three rounds when he was paired with Spieth, Johnson now will play in the group ahead with Kelly Kraft. He’ll also have his amateur partner, Wayne Gretzky, with him, as they made the cut in the team event. “Feel like I’ve been playing pretty solid all three days,” said Johnson, who has shot 66 in two of his last three final rounds at Pebble Beach. DID PATRIOTS WIN HELP OPPENHEIM? Seems ridiculous to think the Patriots’ overtime victory a week ago in the Super Bowl somehow is impacting the leaderboard this week at Pebble Beach. Right? Well … Consider this: Massachusetts-born Rob Oppenheim is a big New England Patriots fan – and he goes into Sunday in fifth at 9 under. Oppenheim is making his 26th PGA TOUR start. This is the first time he’s been inside the top 10 going into the final round. Oppenheim’s amateur partner this week is another Massachusetts native, Pebble Beach Company CEO Bill Perocchi. The other amateur partner in their foursome is Pats coach Bill Belichick, fresh off his fifth Super Bowl victory – one that Oppenheim witnessed in person after procuring $3,000 tickets (don’t worry, he didn’t have to pay; a friend had extras). Oppenheim didn’t discount the theory he’s feeding off the momentum and the good vibes of his group. “Bill Perocchi is the biggest Pats fan I know. He would’ve been down (had the team lost),” Oppenheim said. “Coach, who knows what his spirts would’ve been. It would’ve been a different vibe for the group. I think you kind of feed off the positive energy. It would’ve been a different week if they had lost.” Two years ago, Oppenheim earned his TOUR card by $101 as a Web.com Tour grad. Last year, he came up $392 short when Hurricane Matthew wiped out the Web.com Tour Championship. This week, he’s playing on a sponsor’s exemption. A top-10 finish would get him into next week’s Genesis Open. “If I can parlay this to another week,” Oppenheim said, “that would be unbelievable.” SHOT OF THE DAY JT’S NEAR-ACE Justin Timberlake came oh-so-close to a hole-in-one at the legendary seventh hole at Pebble Beach. Given that he’s arguably the biggest celebrity in the field this week, you can just imagine the fallout had it actually happened. “That would be insane to make a 1 there,” said his pro partner, Justin Rose. “A SportsCenter moment” And a TMZ moment … and Entertainment Tonight moment … and any other media outlet focusing on celebrities. Timberlake and Rose discussed the shot with Sky Sports after their round. The exchange: Said Timberlake: “We had some wind coming off the back and I just tried to play it down. Oh my gosh – that would’ve been something, right? Rose: “This guy is all over. When the crowds turn up, he plays his best. Or when there’s the iconic seventh hole at Pebble, he’ll stiff it. You know what I mean?” Timberlake: “I just close my eyes, really.” Rose: “It’s all skill.” CALL OF THE DAY ODDS AND ENDS World No. 1 Jason Day, a co-leader entering the third round, suffered two double bogeys and missed four putts inside 9 feet en route to a 3-over 75 that left him 10 shots off the pace. “Just mistake after mistake on the front side for me and unfortunately that’s sometimes how it goes,” Day said. “To be honest, I just kept on making silly errors and mistakes out there and unfortunately, I got behind the eight ball.” … Geoff Ogilvy was 220 yards from the pin with his second shot at the par-4 eighth at Pebble Beach. He stuck the approach across the rocky cliffs to 7 feet, 2 inches for a birdie. “One of the best shots I’ve hit for years,” said Ogilvy, whose bogey-free 66 leaves him at 8 under and a tie for fourth … After taking two hours to play his first five holes, Spieth said he was concerned his group might not finish their round, meaning they would have needed to come back early in the morning. “But historically it’s always backed up on 5 and 6,” he said. “… Once you get past 7, it’s pretty clear.” As it turned out, all players finished their third rounds and the tournament schedule is now back on track … Spieth and amateur partner Jake Owen lead the team portion at 25 under. One shot behind is Ken Duke and Carson Daly. Tony Finau and Josh Duhamel are third at 22 under … The largest come-from-behind win in this tournament is seven shots, done twice (Bob Rosburg in 1961, Davis Love III in 2001). BEST FROM SOCIAL MEDIA

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