Monday finish at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am could be arduous exam

Editor's note: The final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has been postponed to Monday due to inclement weather. Here are the latest updates.

There are few places in golf – or anywhere, truthfully – that possess the inherent breathtaking beauty of Pebble Beach Golf Links, one of nature’s true wonders. But after Sunday's final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was postponed due to heavy storms, the event's Monday finish is not expected to be any sun-splashed picnic alongside the gently frolicking waves.

As George Costanza once warned us, the sea will be angry. Following three days of soft conditions conducive to quality scoring – Wyndham Clark shot 60 on Saturday, a new tournament mark – Pebble Beach was hit hard Sunday with severe rainfall and high winds that pushed 60 mph. The conditions look to improve Monday but could still be testing, setting up a day not for sunny selfies along the sparkling bay, but for survival. For scratching out pars, and fighting for a score. This happens on the far end of the Monterey Peninsula when Mother Nature gets her ire up, when she begrudgingly shifts from beauty to beast and serves up a heaping bowl of true Crosby Clambake weather.

N'ae wind, n'ae rain, n'ae golf, as the Scots say. Ah, Monday is when the real fun should begin, assuming that the pros do indeed have a window good enough to play. If the final round is contested Monday, the golf course will be soaked and the conditions will remain perilous.

“The wind is our biggest concern right now for safety,” Gary Young, the PGA TOUR's chief referee, told Golf Channel on Saturday. “I think we’ve made pretty good adjustments to green speeds that we could probably keep balls at rest up until about 40 mph. Once we get north of that it’s going to be pretty difficult. If we get those rain amounts I’m talking about, that will probably play into the decision as well.”

Young said that play would need to start no later than 10:15 a.m. Monday for 72 holes to be completed. But Young said that up to 0.4 inches of rain are scheduled for Monday morning, as well.

“We’re already dealing with a very soggy golf course and at that point we’re making the decision whether or not we think that the standards for professional golf are there," Young told Golf Channel.

That means that Wyndham Clark's 60 on Saturday didn't just give him the course record at one of golf's most historic venues. It may have netted him his third PGA TOUR title, after victories at last year's Wells Fargo Championship and U.S. Open.

Clark, 30, managed to make nearly 190 feet of putts Saturday. When he walked off the green with par on his opening hole on Saturday, he was tied for 31st place. But a man can make a move when he plays his first 11 holes in 10-under, a run that included two eagles in an opening nine of 8-under 28.

Now comes the tricky part. After posting the best tournament round ever played at famed Pebble, just what does one plan for an encore? Clark’s 60 moved him to 17-under 199. Staying right there next to him, trailing by a shot through 54 holes, is SuperSwede Ludvig Åberg (67), who a year ago at this time was still attending classes at Texas Tech.

At 24, Åberg is an incredible talent, already touted as one of the best drivers of the golf ball anywhere. Saturday marked his second bogey-free round in as many days at Pebble, and if he gets the putter to cooperate – he made fewer than 50 total feet of putts in his round – then Åberg will be a stout force as he chases his second PGA TOUR title in only his 20th start. Since turning pro last summer, he has won on the PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and played on a winning European Ryder Cup team. So much for freshman blues.

His 67 on Saturday appeared to be a pretty easy walk.

“I think we played solid golf, didn’t put too much pressure on myself,” Åberg said. “It was nice.”

Åberg smiled when told Saturday evening that he appears to be a man who does not become overwhelmed in the big moments. He laughs when told he appears so calm, saying that in parts of this early journey as a professional, he has been downright terrified.

One thought continues to keep Åberg grounded: “I keep reminding myself, ‘You are living your childhood dream,’ he said. That makes Monday's opportunity fun, with little to lose.

Seven players are within four shots of the lead, a group that includes the PGA TOUR’s most recent winner (Frenchman Matthieu Pavon, who shot 66), two players seeking a first TOUR triumph (thirtysomethings Mark Hubbard and Thomas Detry), past AT&T Pebble Beach champions Tom Hoge and Jason Day, and high-powered Americans Scottie Scheffler, world No. 1, and Justin Thomas.

Pavon said his biggest challenge has been keeping his energy levels high after winning the Farmers Insurance Open down the coast in San Diego one week ago in a Saturday finish. He birdied the final four holes of his final event in Europe last season to squeeze in and earn a PGA TOUR card, and he hasn’t been home in a month. At least he is making the most of his chance, his victory giving him starts in all of the TOUR’s Signature Events, a huge perk for a rookie.

What has Pavon found in his game? Saturday he drove the ball better than he did a day earlier. And well, confidence. It grows with every good round. That’s been huge for him.

“I think that's the key,” Pavon said. “If you want to play some good golf, you have to be confident. All you can do after that is like take a positive attitude and try to hit the best shot every time you show up.”

Pavon has been hitting plenty of good shots, settling down on Saturday after an up-and-down opening nine to make three birdies against no bogeys coming in, signing for 66.

Day shot 63, best round among the chasers on Saturday, and felt pretty good about it until he found out what Clark was doing. Hoge (66) made six birdies and no bogeys on Saturday. Scheffler and Thomas, winless a year ago, tried their best to stay close to the lead despite getting few putts to drop. Between them, they made three birdies on the scorable back nine on Saturday, and will begin the final round four shots back.

Thomas and Scheffler (and Clark) were teammates on the U.S. Ryder Cup team last fall. After a lackluster 2023, Thomas believes his game is good enough to win again, but he’ll have to do it Monday from back in the pack. Scheffler began the day in a three-way tie for the lead but never got much going at Pebble. His birdie at the closing 18th was only his third of the day.

If it seems as if Scheffler has been doing this for a long time, consider this: Next week marks the two-year anniversary of his first PGA TOUR victory (WM Phoenix Open). Since that time, he has won a Masters, a PLAYERS Championship, and six times total, which pushed him to No. 1 in the world. Putting has been a big focus since the end of 2023, and if he gets that club going, Scheffler has the skills to catch anyone.

Mother Nature permitting, of course. Turn the fans up high, grab a good rainsuit and an umbrella, and get ready for some fun. Yes, after a day of waiting, Monday will be quite the test. Best to stay inside.