Emergency 9: PGA Championship, Round 2

Can Patrick Reed follow his Masters tittle with a U.S. Open win? He’s making a move early.

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Jordan Spieth holed out from 160 yards for eagle on the 16th hole at Pebble Beach, the start of a stunning turnaround that took him from two shots behind to a two-shot lead Saturday in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. RELATED: Leaderboard | Mickelson smiles after tough finish at Pebble Beach These moments used to happen when Spieth was winning all the time. This was the second time this week he holed out from the fairway, and now he is on the cusp of ending more than three years without a victory. He shot 1-under 71 as he goes for a second victory at Pebble Beach in the last five years. A pedestrian round that included bogeys on two of the par 5s left Spieth two shots out of the lead with three holes to play. And then it all changed. His hard draw to a left pin on the 16th landed about 8 feet right of the hole and took the slope all the way to the bottom of the cup. Two holes later, Daniel Berger sent his drive well to the right, over the bunkers and onto the cart path. It settled next to the hedges, and was out-of-bounds by mere inches. Berger called over an official for a linear measurement, but it was out. That led to double bogey and a 72. Patrick Cantlay, whose third round began with such promise when he hit it to 8 feet for eagle, birdied the 18th for a 70 and joined Berger two shots out of the lead. Tom Hoge (68) and Russell Knox (69) also were two shots behind. Spieth was at 13-under 203. He was tied for the lead going into the final round last week in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, only to fall back when he couldn’t make any putts. He shot 72 and finished two back. Jason Day was very much in the mix, too, after a 68 left him in the group at 10-under 206. Paul Casey stayed three shots behind with a great break on the 18th when his tee shot tumbled down onto the rocks, but had a flat enough lie he could hit off the rock back into the fairway. He shot 71. Maverick McNealy had a 69 that included a penalty shot behind the fifth green when his ball moved right as he set the club behind the ball. Spieth didn’t have to contend with what he predicted to be a “mean” day at Pebble Beach. The rain in the forecast was gone by the time he teed off. The raging wind was more of a stiff breeze along the ocean holes that Pebble gets all the time. Spieth didn’t do anything great Saturday. He made bogey on the easiest hole at Pebble Beach from the middle of the fairway on the par-5 second hole, coming up well short of the green, pitching short of the putting surface and missing a par putt from 5 feet. He also bogeyed the par-5 14th when his lob wedge was too tentative and spun all the way off the front of the green. But there was enough good golf — and no wild shots that have cost him so dearly over the last three years — to keep him close enough to work a little magic at the end. He also needed some help, which Berger supplied. Even so, a dozen players were separated by four shots going into the final round at a tournament that moves much faster this year without amateur partners creating groups of four players.

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Carlos Ortiz … What a debut in a World Golf Championships event and in his homeland no less. Two weeks ago, the 28-year-old from Mexico finished T16 at Club de Golf Chapultepec with consistently strong iron play, ranking T14 in greens hit and fifth in proximity. Before you chalk it up to a comfort level, he already had registered three top fives in the fall to lock up his card for next season. Aside from chasing exemptions into other marquee competitions, the hole on the résumé remains in the win column. He finished T21 at Bay Hill in 2015 and T29 in 2019, but given his form and expanding skill set, perhaps the third time is the proverbial charm. It’s also a milestone of sorts in that this is his 100th career start as a PGA TOUR member (and 103rd overall). Doc Redman … Bay Hill sets up as a potential boon for the tee-to-green specialist. The perspective was similar when he appeared as a Sleeper for the Houston Open and placed T13. Currently sixth on the season in total driving, 12th in fairways hit, T21 in greens in regulation and T24 in proximity to the hole. The bonus is that he’s T23 in par-4 scoring. And despite the fact that the 22-year-old is a first-time PGA TOUR member, he played this tournament as an amateur in 2018. In what his first-ever appearance on TOUR, he finished 71st. Brian Harman … When we think of the diminutive lefty contending somewhere, cozy tracks spring to mind, yet he’s connected for three top 20s in eight appearances at Bay Hill. He’s also missed four cuts, which helps explain why the long par 72 isn’t on our short list. Nevertheless, he’s putting his consecutive cuts-made streak of seven on the line, so there’s positive momentum upon arrival. Two of those performances yielded top 25s; he has five on the season. Reliable accuracy of the tee, precision on approach, a scorer’s mentality with the putter and a balanced attack on par 3s, par 4s and par 5s all contribute to his position of 23rd in adjusted scoring. Kevin Chappell … It’s been almost six months now since he became the latest to signed for a sub-60 on the PGA TOUR. Alas, his second-round 59 at Greenbrier was his only score south of 71 en route to a T47. The only other bright spot in his return to competition following back surgery was at Pebble Beach where he still managed a T25 despite 74s in the last two rounds. He’s not striking it tee to green anywhere close to his standard, but Bay Hill has brought out the best in him. After missing his first edition last year after seven consecutive, he’s buoyed by the coincidence that 2020 is an even number. See, in each of the first four even-numbered years he’s appeared, he’s finished a respective T24, T14, second and T7. In between, he went MC-MC-T49. It’s an oddity that may not necessarily build confidence, but it sure can’t hurt it. Rob Oppenheim … The 40-year-old is on his third try with a PGA TOUR card. He failed to keep it the first two times. However, as the career twilight acts as a magnet for most light-hitting knockers of a certain age, he’s already matched or established modest season-bests with one top 10 (T9, Puerto Rico Open) and four top 25s. Found at 117th in the FedExCup, the Orlando resident and product of nearby Rollins College is making his third start at Bay Hill, all via a sponsor exemption. He placed T20 in his debut in 2016. It was his second-best finish in 21 starts as a PGA TOUR rookie. He has his moments, good and bad, but for the season he’s 39th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and 24th in scrambling. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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