Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry will be in the final group alongside Sepp Straka on Sunday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as the PGA TOUR season finally feels like it is kicking off.
McIlroy and Lowry were co-leading in the clubhouse on fifteen-under-par after shooting rounds of 65 but overnight leader Straka battled until the end and birdied his last two holes for a 70 to retake the lead on sixteen-under with Justin Rose, Tom Kim and Cam Davis lurking on -14.
McIlroy looked down and out on the back nine of his second round but an eagle at the last kept him within touching distance of Straka heading into the third round and he kicked on with a bogey-free round which he described as one of his best poor weather performances as he ground his way through the wind and rain.
“It’s up there. I feel like we got the first five holes pretty, not benign but it was manageable. Then 6, I would say 6 through was like the really tough stretch of the golf course. Like the tee shot on 7 was just like it’s in the air and you don’t know whether to tell it to sit or go or whatever,” said McIlroy who rolled in birdies on the 1st, 2nd, 5th and 8th before birdieing three of his last four to finish.
“To play 6 through 10 in 1 under was huge. I knew getting up to that back nine it was going to be a little more sheltered and I think just to — I didn’t play perfectly, I made some key up-and-downs, 10, 11, 12. Then I think the birdie on 15 after not birdieing 14 was big, too.
“Yeah, it was a really good poor weather performance. I think if there’s a wind that you want to play Pebble Beach in, this is sort of it. So it was — as long as you managed it and sort of really controlled the flight of your golf ball, which I did well today, I still felt with how receptive the greens were, I still felt there was a score out there.”
Slow play, dwindling television figures and depleted fields have been a fixture of the PGA TOUR season so far but there is no doubt that Pebble Beach has lit the flame for the campaign and McIlroy feels venues should play a pivotal role in the golfing landscape going forward.
“I think really good venues are a big part of the storyline. When we go to major championships, especially a U.S. Open and an Open Championship, I always feel like the golf course is a big part of the storyline heading into Thursday. Sometimes on the PGA TOUR that isn’t the case because whether you play a run of the mill TPC or whatever it is, it just isn’t that interesting.
“So to come back to Pebble Beach time and again and play, and Spyglass, I think Spyglass is a really, really good golf course. To play these two golf courses, it’s definitely two of the best that we play all year.
“I think really good venues are a big part of the storyline. When we go to major championships, especially a U.S. Open and an Open Championship, I always feel like the golf course is a big part of the storyline heading into Thursday. Sometimes on the PGA TOUR that isn’t the case because whether you play a run of the mill TPC or whatever it is, it just isn’t that interesting.
“So to come back to Pebble Beach time and again and play, and Spyglass, I think Spyglass is a really, really good golf course. To play these two golf courses, it’s definitely two of the best that we play all year.”
A hot start was the key for Lowry to get into the final group as he started birdie, eagle, birdie. The Offaly man dropped just two shots on the seventh and ninth as he rolled in birdies on the 6th, 11th, 14th and 16th to justify McIlroy’s comments that he is the better poor weather player.
Lowry has long been tagged as a great player in difficult conditions, his 2019 Open Championship and 2009 Irish Open wins are a prime example of that, but he by no means enjoys the bruising weather.
“People, like the first thing someone said to me when I arrived at the course this morning, this is gonna suit you,” said Lowry.
“Yeah, it might suit me somewhat but I don’t enjoy it. You know, I live in Florida for a reason. Yeah, look I’m able — I think my game is well equipped to handle these conditions and I go out there kind of no fear and I know I just need to batten down the hatches and make pars when I can. When you hit good shots you need to take advantage.
“And look, I did very well today. The only time I hit a good shot I made a birdie, so it was a great day. Great score, 65’s a good score. Obviously Rory had a great day and hopefully we’re together tomorrow and hopefully one of the two of us can get the job done.”
Straka will no doubt be trying to spoil the all Irish party as he chases his second PGA TOUR win of the season and he has form for winning in poor conditions after he pipped Lowry for the 2023 Honda Classic.
Lowry and McIlroy are no strangers to battling each other at the business end of tournaments with McIlroy pipping his friend at the 2014 BMW PGA Championship before Lowry returned the favour in 2022, his last competitive individual win.
“I’m not sure we’ve ever played in the final round together. He beat me I remember at Wentworth in 2014, I finished second to him. We went down the back nine there and I got him back in 2022 around Wentworth as well. He haven’t really went head to head that much. He’s obviously, he’s there a lot more than I am. I’m happy to be there tomorrow.”
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