Syme battles wind, rain to take Wales Open lead

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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DUBLIN, Ohio – Jon Rahm’s storied history with the 16th hole at Muirfield Village continued Saturday morning as the defending Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide champion made a stunning ace to surge into the outright lead. The Spanish superstar slotted the ball home on the iconic par-3 with an 8-iron from 183 yards a year after he chipped in from greenside rough on Sunday only to be penalized two shots for being deemed to make his ball move prior to his swing. The penalty in 2020 ended up being inconsequential as he held on for victory over the final two holes although Saturday’s shot still felt like a bit of retribution for the five-time PGA TOUR winner. “I told Adam (caddy), I was walking down after I picked up the ball, I’m, like, well, that is some good karma and payback from last year,” Rahm joked. “It was just one of those good numbers. It helped to see Xander’s shot because I knew if I pulled the 8-iron it would be over the pin, so I just aimed between the pin and the edge of the bunker, hit a straight 8-iron and let the wind do the rest, and it went in. “I did not think any ball landing short of the pin would go in just because it’s coming in with such height from the elevated tee and the greens are soft. But hey, I think you can kind of see my face of surprise, right, early on, because I was pretty sure that ball was going to be past the hole about 15 feet.” Returning to finish the last five holes of his second round thanks to earlier weather delays Rahm had dropped a shot on the par-4 14th and failed to birdie the par-5 15th before the sensational shot. He backed up the ace with a birdie on the 17th and was within a whisker of another on 18 to shoot a 7-under 65 leaving him at 10-under and two shots clear of 2019 champion Patrick Cantlay at 8-under. Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler and Max Homa sit tied third at 6-under. “I wasn’t too happy to have to stop yesterday because I was 5-under through 13 playing unbelievable golf. I was feeling really, really solid. Had you given me a flashlight, I probably would have tried to finish yesterday,” Rahm added. “I’m leading the tournament after 36 so I’m in a good position. I’m comfortable. I’ve been looking forward to it, like I said earlier in the week. I’ve been doing a lot of backdoor top 10s and I’m happy I’m in contention for once.”

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Chez Reavie holed out from the fairway three times for eagle at the Sony Open on Friday, something that hasn’t been accomplished on the PGA Tour since at least 1983.

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