Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay look to steal spotlight from leading trio at Pebble Beach

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – On those occasions when you found yourself lost in the breathtaking scenery and rhythmic roll of the waves at Stillwater Cove – and we suspect they were plentiful on yet another glittering day of sunshine on the Monterey Peninsula – the noises that snapped you back to attention in Saturday’s third round of AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am were of a golf tournament taking shape.

Most of them, to no one’s surprise, coming on our most mystical golf stage, Pebble Beach.

Beau Hossler’s eagle at No. 6 and four birdies over his final six holes? It produced a bogey-free 65.

Andrew Putnam, 3 over after four holes, making seven birdies, including five in a row? It was good for 68.

Patrick Cantlay’s sweet symmetry – a birdie-birdie start and birdie-birdie finish? Put him down for 68.

And Jordan Spieth, because isn’t Jordan Spieth always making noise here at Pebble? Out in 31 he made his way home with birdies on four of his final five holes. A scintillating 63 that included a high-wire shot from the cliff at No. 8.

Savor all of that, but then toss in the bogey-free 4-under 68 for Tom Hoge at Spyglass Hill GC, the superb 66 for Joe Dahman at Spyglass, and then shine a spotlight on Seamus Power’s tepid 3-over 74 at Monterey Peninsula CC and . . . well, a chorus of “we’ve got ourselves a new ballgame” would be timely and quite accurate.

Hossler, Putnam and Hoge all tied at 15-under 200, with Cantlay, Dahmen and Spieth sitting at 14-under? Hmmm, yes, that surely ignites the motivation to tune in for Sunday’s final round on what is going to be another sun-splashed day at Pebble.

It is a picture far different than what we had here Friday evening, when Power, on the strength of a 64-64 start, sat five strokes to par clear of his nearest competitor. With a third-round trip to picturesque Monterey Peninsula on his dance card, Power was felt to be in position to increase his lead.

Instead, the Irishman had two sloppy three-putt bogeys and birdied just one of the four par 5s. While he slipped into seventh place and at 202 is just two back, Power unintentionally did open the door to what we have Sunday – a wonderfully crowded opportunity for a shootout that includes players ranked fourth and 15th in the world (Cantlay and Spieth, respectively) who profess total love of Pebble Beach and possess marquee talent.

Not that the others in the hunt don’t get their engines fired up when they get here.

“Pebble can give and take so quickly, right?” said Hossler. “I was glad to be on the receiving end today. The margins are thin at Pebble.”

Said Dahmen: “Pebble’s my favorite golf course in the world, my favorite place. Pebble is my Augusta; it’s my special place, my happy place, especially when the sun is shining.”

Oh, how it has shined so brilliantly and so majestically all three days and the fact that a fourth day of similar weather is forecast for a jam-packed leaderboard (and should you want to dig deeper, Jason Day is just four off the lead, tied for eighth) paints a setting that the contenders are anxious for.

“It will be fun,” said Hoge, who has yet to win, but not for a lack of opportunities. He was second two weeks ago at The American Express and was just off Spieth’s lead through 54 holes a year ago here.

“I was in the last group here with Jordan last year with no crowds. So, it will be a lot more fun to have people out and have a little excitement here.”

Though Spieth and Cantlay are one off the lead, it would be fair to say the spotlight will shine brightest on them.

Cantlay, in pursuit of his seventh PGA TOUR win, has played brilliantly in his native California without a triumph and would like nothing more than to make amends for last year.

A year ago, he opened with 62 at Pebble, but closed with a 68 that wasn’t enough to match Daniel Berger’s winning effort.

Ancient history, shrugged Cantlay, who shook off a sloppy bogey at the par-4 15th with stalwart birdies at 17 and 18 to pull within one. “I’m in great position and I love this golf course,” he said.

Few may be able to match Cantlay’s ball-striking prowess, but when it comes to proposing a love affair with Pebble, there is a line, a very, very long line, and somewhere in the thick of it is Spieth.

He’s been contending here since he was about 6 years old – or so it seems. Truth is, Spieth is only 28. But he’s already here for the 10th time and the record includes a win (2017) and four other top 10s, one of which came a last season when he squandered that 54-hole lead.

“I was a little tentative early and Berger came out firing,” said Spieth, who indicated that he’ll not make that mistake again. He’ll be paired with Dahmen, and their amateur partners, in the third-to-last pairing.

“Pebble can yield low scores (especially early) and sometimes it can be a little easier not being in the final group to go ahead and fire away.

“You almost just set a goal for a number and pretend you’ve got to get there in order to win.”

There will be no need for Pebble Beach to pretend. Its stage will be sun-splashed and radiant. Let the competitors play on.