Rory: DeChambeau ‘taking advantage’ of rules

Perez ups lead to 4 shots at CIMB Classic

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – It took an extra 197 days for Phil Mickelson to win his first AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The delay will be considerably shorter to win his fifth. That’s provided, of course, Mickelson maintains the lead for the final two holes that he’ll play Monday morning when play resumes at 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. local) on Pebble Beach. He’s three shots ahead of playing partner Paul Casey, the only other player yet to finish his final round. Thanks to a one-hour delay prior to the start of Sunday’s play, and then an additional two-plus hour delay after a hail storm arrived as the final group was on the first tee, the playing schedule was pushed back just enough to prevent Mickelson and Casey from finishing their rounds. It wasn’t for lack of trying on Mickelson’s part, though. Having surged to the lead with a brilliant 16 holes that included six birdies and no bogeys, Mickelson was pushing hard to finish in regulation. With darkness quickly enveloping Pebble Beach, Mickelson insisted, “I can see fine.â€� But Casey realized there was no way to complete two holes in six minutes, so he opted to mark his ball on the 16th green, knowing his par putt from 3 feet would be on fresh greens Monday. Mickelson, who is at 18 under, had no problems with Casey’s decision. “I totally get where he’s coming from,â€� he said. “In all honestly, it’s probably a good thing because now we’ll play the last couple of holes in pure conditions and it will be helpful for both of us.â€� Casey, likewise, understood Mickelson’s stance. “The guy on the hot streak wants to keep going,â€� Casey said. “The guy who’s not, let’s stop.â€� Casey was never able to heat up Sunday in the cold conditions – he was even par for his round — but he’s hoping the overnight reset might give him a chance to catch Mickelson. A birdie-eagle finish at the par-3 17th and par-5 18th might be his best hope, given how Mickelson was playing Sunday. “There’s still a glimmer,â€� said Casey, currently tied for second with Scott Stallings at 15 under. “I need to do something special.â€� Casey also did not want to jeopardize the chance of winning the pro-am portion of the event with his amateur partner, Don Colleran. They have a two-shot lead with two to play. At least Mickelson won’t have to wait as long as he did in 1998. That was the year that the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am could manage just 36 holes during its regularly scheduled week, suffering from the infamous “Crosby weatherâ€� that often kicks up in February. Needing to play 54 holes to make the results official, the decision was made to play the final round at a later date when travel was convenient for players. It finally took place 6-1/2 months later on Monday, Aug. 17, the day after the PGA Championship finished in Sahalee outside Seattle. It’s the last time a TOUR event had its final round postponed and played later in the season. Mickelson rallied in that final round, shooting a 67 to beat Tom Pernice Jr. by a stroke. That was the 13th of his 43 career TOUR victories. He also won at Pebble Beach in 2005, 2007 and 2012. “I’ve got two difficult holes coming up and it’s been a great day so far,â€� said Mickelson, who made his 500th career cut on the PGA TOUR on Saturday. “I love playing this tournament, but I think the postponement is a good omen because the first time I won here was ’98. We had a … suspension of the tournament, came back and finished the final round and I had my first victory here.â€� Provided he completes the task Monday, Mickelson will tie Mark O’Meara for most victories in this event. And at age 48-1/2, he would be the oldest winner of this event. “He’s been at it for a long time, and he’s done it for awhile and he’s still winning,â€� said Jason Day, who finished at 13 under and a tie for fourth with Si Woo Kim. “If he plays the way he’s playing right now, he should be able to get it done pretty easy.â€� It seems like a Mickelson win is a formality, but as Pebble Beach has shown in a week that started with the electricity being knocked out due to severe storms, and then hail pelting players on Sunday, nothing is really predictable around here. “Obviously, there’s a lot of weird things that can take place,â€� said Stallings, who will remain on-site with his family in case of a playoff. “I think my wife has changed our flight 37 times today.â€� But Mickelson, on the verge of career win No. 44, plans to take care of business. “The tournament’s not over and a lot can happen, and we’ve got two tough holes,â€� he said. “But the fact is, I’m playing well and I’ve got a nice lead and I’m looking forward to tomorrow morning.â€�

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ALBANY, Bahamas (AP) – A tropical breeze replaced the raging wind and made golf a lot easier for Patrick Reed, Tiger Woods and just about everyone else Thursday in the Hero World Challenge. Reed took advantage of the back nine at Albany Golf Club for the second straight day. He was tied for the lead until making six birdies over his last 10 holes for a 6-under 66 that gave him a three-shot lead over Gary Woodland. “It’s one of those golf courses that when the wind lays down, it gives you opportunities to make birdies,” Reed said. “But when the wind starts blowing, the golf course can get really challenging. You need to give yourself as many opportunities as you can.” Reed was at 12-under 132. Related: Leaderboard | Hero World Challenge pairings give Presidents Cup hints Woods, playing for the first time since he won the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP for his record-tying 82nd career victory on the PGA TOUR, kept a clean card to match Reed’s 66 and remain six shots behind. Unlike the opening round, when Woods started poorly and ended even worse to wipe out a good back nine, he played bogey-free and made up ground on the back nine. It started with a 6-iron that hopped onto the green at the par-5 11th and rolled 7 feet away for an eagle. He followed with a 7-iron to 8 feet for another birdie. He didn’t make up any ground on Reed, but he at least cut down on the number of players ahead of him as he tries to win his holiday event for the first time since 2011. “I just think it was less windy,” Woods said. “It was a little bit easier today.” Once he got through the front nine, where he spent much of the time scrambling for pars outside of a lone birdie, Woods didn’t miss too many shots coming in. A week before he heads over to Australia as the playing captain for the U.S. Team in the Presidents Cup, the game looked to be in order. Woods attributed that to the minor knee surgery in late August to repair cartilage damage. “I can drive the ball a little better because I can rotate, and I can putt the ball better because I can get down and read putts again,” Woods said. “Toward the end of the year, I couldn’t do that.” Woodland, who makes his Presidents Cup debut next week, lost ground with consecutive bogeys that left him six shots behind at one point. He fixed that by finishing with three straight birdies for a 69 and will be paired with Reed again on Friday for the third round. The tournament ends Saturday so the American team can board a charter to Melbourne, arriving on Monday. Dustin Johnson, who withdrew from the Bahamas to have one more week for his knee to recover, plans to fly in on Saturday to join the rest of the Americans on the charter. Defending champion Jon Rahm also had a 66 to match the low round of the day, leaving him four shots behind with Henrik Stenson, who had a 67. Woods was in the group at 6-under 138 along with Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas, who each shot 69. Fowler, who got married during his offseason and then missed a tournament recovering from food poisoning, is playing for the first time since the TOUR Championship on Aug. 25. All but three players broke par, and the high score belonged to Bubba Watson and Chez Reavie at 73. Reed is playing this week with a set of prototype irons he has been working on, and he’s keeping it private until the new year. They appear to be working, especially at the end. Coming off a bogey, Reed drilled his approach from 201 yards into 3 feet on the final hole for a birdie to stretch his lead. Woodland was happy to be within three, getting a bad break on the 14th and letting it bother him during another bogey. The closing three birdies changed his outlook. “It was huge. I needed that,” he said. “Got me back in the golf tournament and gave me a chance for this week.”

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