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Feb 8, 2020 7:56 pm

Taylor leads Mickelson by one at Pebble Beach Pro-Am

Nick Taylor overcame a rough start to finish strong at Spyglass Hill Golf Course on Saturday and maintain a one-stroke lead over defending champion Phil Mickelson through three rounds at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California.

Taylor, from Canada, shot 3-under 69 and sits at 17-under 198 through three rounds, which have been played on three different courses. Players rotated at the par-72 Spyglass Hill — considered the toughest course — the par-72 Pebble Beach Golf Links and the par-71 Monterey Peninsula, the easiest of the three courses.

Mickelson shot 67 at Pebble Beach, birdieing three of his final six holes to get within a stroke of the lead and earn a spot in the final grouping. Sunday’s round will be played at Pebble Beach.

Alone in third place at 14 under is Australia’s Jason Day, who shot 70 at Spyglass Hill. Only three other players are within seven strokes of the lead: Matt Every (68 at MP) and Kevin Streelman (68 at PB) are tied for fourth at 11 under, and Peter Malnati (66 at MP) is alone in sixth at 10 under.

Taylor, 31, is seeking his first PGA Tour victory since his lone win in 2014. He began on the back nine and squandered his two-stroke lead, making bogeys at 10 and 13 and failing to make a birdie until 17.

But he recovered after the turn, birdieing No. 2 and No. 5 to regain the lead and then sinking a 20-foot eagle putt at the par-5 seventh.

“I haven’t been in this spot for a while,” Taylor said, per Golfweek. “So I just got to keep my head down, do my thing and keep playing, because I’ve been playing well.”

Mickelson started hot at Pebble Beach, opening with consecutive birdies before another at the sixth and a terrific par save from the sand at the par-3 seventh.

He missed a 16-foot putt to bogey the par-3 12th, but responded with a pair of magical wedges: first, Mickelson holed a 47-foot bunker shot for birdie at 13, then drained a chip-and-run from 88 feet. The latter shot came in hot but hit the flagstick squarely and dropped in.

Mickelson added another birdie at the par-5 18th to cap a wild round, in which he hit only half of the greens in regulation.

“I missed one in a bad spot on 12, otherwise I missed it in the correct spot to where I had not too difficult up and downs. Umm, actually that’s not totally true — I’ve had some pretty hard up and downs today,” Mickelson said with a laugh afterward on CBS. “So I don’t know, I don’t know what the key is. Just get the ball in the hole somehow.”



A five-time winner of the event, Mickelson’s last two victories have come from a trailing position. He’ll look to make it three on Sunday.

“It’s just about playing one good round out here,” Mickelson said. “Really a fun, difficult golf course that you can go low on if you play well, and you’re going to shoot high if you don’t.”

“I’m sure I won’t be the crowd favorite,” said Taylor, who will play with Mickelson for the first time on Sunday. “I’ve just got to do my own thing, try to block all that out. Easier said than done, without having to do it before, but I’ll do the best I can.”

Dustin Johnson, the top-ranked player in the field at No. 5, is among five players tied for seventh at 9 under.

On the amateur side, the duo of Streelman and Larry Fitzgerald shot 64 at Pebble Beach to take a one-stroke lead at 27-under 188. The combo of Mickelson and Steve Young is one stroke back after shooting 65 at Pebble Beach.

Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)

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