AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Round 2: Sepp Straka Beats the Weather to a Three-Shot Lead

Friday at Pebble Beach came in two acts. The morning was a birdie buffet. The afternoon brought cold rain, rising wind and a lot of people suddenly very interested in par. Sepp Straka read the script better than anyone.

Straka shot 7-under 65 at Pebble Beach to reach 14-under 130 and take a three-shot lead into the weekend at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Russell Henley (69) and Cam Davis (68) share second at 11 under. Tony Finau, Andrew Novak, Tom Kim, Justin Rose and Austin Eckroat are tied for fourth at 10 under. Rory McIlroy is six back after a 70, and Scottie Scheffler is seven back after a Friday he will remember mostly for one walk on the beach.

Straka Beats the Front

The weather turned right as Straka was finishing, and the timing mattered. By the time he reached the closing stretch, the breeze had gone from nothing to something real.

"Went from zero to about 20 miles an hour pretty quickly," Straka said.

He did most of his damage before that. Straka was 5 under on the front nine and added two more before conditions flipped. The lone blemish came at the 16th, where he missed a par putt from about 3 feet. He answered on the par-5 18th, hitting a 4-iron from 208 yards into the wind to about 30 feet and two-putting for birdie. That closing birdie is the difference between a two-shot lead and a three-shot lead, and on a weekend forecast for gusts near 30 mph, that extra stroke has real value.

"Definitely happy I don't have to play any more holes out there," Straka said.

The Putter Story

This is not a random hot week. Straka won The American Express two weeks ago, and the common thread is a tweak on the greens: a skinnier grip with the hands set a little higher. He has now strung together a run of strong putting rounds dating to Palm Springs.

"Palm Springs was the first time in a long time I felt that I had four really good putting rounds in a row," he said.

Asked if he was on a heater, Straka deflected toward the world No. 1. "I mean, no, I would not classify that as a run," he said. "I think Scottie Scheffler is on a run."

That is a nice line, but the numbers say otherwise. Two rounds of 65, one on each course, and a three-shot cushion entering a weekend at Pebble is a run by any definition.

The Chasers Hit the Wall

Henley, Thursday's leader, got the friendlier course but the meaner part of the day. The 69 was fine, and on a back nine that played like a different golf course, staying within three was a decent result.

"I felt like it was just kind of turned into a little bit of a bear," Henley said.

Davis played Spyglass in calmer air early and finished on the more sheltered back nine there, but the last hole stung. He reached the fringe at the 18th in two and watched his par putt slide past the left edge for a bogey.

Finau's day was the clearest picture of how the conditions changed. He was 6 under through his first 10 holes at Spyglass, then gave one back on the holes that run along the water to shoot 67. He sounded like someone already thinking about the weekend.

"It's going to change Pebble a lot," Finau said.

Novak and Kim both shot 65 to jump into the group at 10 under, Novak at Spyglass and Kim at Pebble. Novak also won the pro-am team title with partner Philippe Laffont, wrapping up the amateur portion of the week.

McIlroy's Roller Coaster

McIlroy's 70 was a ride. He opened with four birdies in seven holes and looked ready to chase down the lead. Then Pebble pushed back. He missed the green at the par-3 12th, caught a fairway bunker shot heavy at the 13th and got out of position off the tee at 15 and 16, making bogeys on all four. The 25-foot eagle putt he holed at the 18th saved the round and dropped him to 8 under.

Scheffler's Beach Walk

Scheffler's 70 included a three-birdie run, capped by a tap-in from 2 feet at the brutal 8th. The lasting image, though, came at the 18th. His tee shot went left toward the Pacific. Instead of a reload, Scheffler walked roughly 300 yards down the beach, found the ball, cleared rocks and seaweed and advanced it back to the fairway. He made par.

"After the tee ball, I definitely would have taken a par, no complaints," Scheffler said.

He summed up the day in one line. "The unpredictability was the most difficult part."

Ludvig Aberg withdrew with an illness after his opening 77.

The Weekend Setup

The amateurs are done, and now it is the pros alone at Pebble Beach for two rounds, with no cut and a $3.6 million winner's share. Twelve players are within five shots of Straka, but the forecast is the real headline: more rain and gusts near 30 mph. Scoring that came easily on Thursday and Friday morning is unlikely to be on offer.

Straka has the cushion and the form. Henley and Davis have the closest look. McIlroy and Scheffler have the most firepower in the chase pack. Saturday will be about who can hold a number when Pebble stops being polite.

Catch up on Thursday in our Round 1 recap. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 2 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 2 recap and leaderboard), AP, Monterey County Now, Sportskeeda leaderboard. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.