AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Round 3: Straka Hangs On as McIlroy and Lowry Fire Matching 65s

Saturday at Pebble Beach looked like the old Crosby Clambake: cold, wet and blowing hard off the Pacific. It was the kind of day that sorts a leaderboard by stubbornness, and two old friends from Ireland were the most stubborn people on the property.

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry each shot 7-under 65, tied for the low round of the day, to climb within one shot of the lead at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The lead still belongs to Sepp Straka, who survived a three-hole collapse on the cliffs and rallied for a 70 to reach 16-under 200. McIlroy and Lowry sit at 15 under. Justin Rose, Tom Kim and Cam Davis are two back at 14 under, and Lucas Glover is alone in seventh at 13 under.

Straka Falls Off the Cliff, Then Climbs Back Up

Through nine holes, Straka looked like he was running away with it. Then came the 10th, the hole that hugs the edge of Carmel Bay. His approach sailed over the cliff and onto the beach. He took a penalty drop and made bogey. Then he bogeyed the 11th. Then the 12th. In three holes, a four-shot lead turned into a two-shot deficit.

What happened next is why he is still in front. Straka birdied the 14th and 15th, poured in a 30-footer on the par-3 17th and closed with a birdie at the 18th. Four birdies in the last five holes, in that weather, is a serious answer.

"You can't stay dry, ball's not going where you want it to go, putting is tough," Straka said, per the AP.

He is chasing a second win in three starts after The American Express, which would make him the first two-time winner of the 2025 PGA TOUR season.

McIlroy Chips It Around

McIlroy's 65 was bogey-free, and the way he built it says a lot about where his head is this season. When the wind came up around the 6th, he told caddie Harry Diamond to chip the ball around the rest of the day.

"I feel like I didn't make a full swing after that," McIlroy said.

It worked because his short game held everything together. He saved par six times from the rough and bunkers. At the 7th, where the wind was stiff enough to make him hit 9-iron from 103 yards, he got up and down from long and left. At the 8th he hit a 9-iron from 172 yards to 9 feet for birdie. At the 9th, the hardest hole of the day at nearly half a shot over par, he saved par. At the 10th, he chipped from high grass below the green to 6 feet and made it.

"That was a key up-and-down to just to keep the momentum of the round going," he said.

The payoff came late, with birdies on three of his final four holes. With the field averaging 71.6, per the PGA TOUR, a clean 65 was worth more than the number suggests.

"One thing I'm trying to get better at is trying to play more bogey free-rounds," McIlroy said. "It was a really good poor-weather performance."

Lowry Doesn't Play Golf, Apparently

Lowry's game is built for days like this, even if he jokes otherwise. The 2019 Open champion lives in Florida and made a point of saying so.

"I live in Florida for a reason," Lowry said. "I didn't play golf. When the weather is like that, I don't play golf anymore."

Lowry went birdie, eagle, birdie to start, rolling in a 17-footer for the eagle, then ground through the middle of the round. He bogeyed the 9th, parred the 10th and felt like the field was coming back to him. Two birdies in his last three holes got him to 15 under.

"I think my game is well equipped to handle these conditions," Lowry said. "I go out there (with) no fear and I know I just need to batten down the hatches and make pars when I can."

Old Friends, One Trophy

McIlroy and Lowry go back to junior golf on the Irish national team. They are Ryder Cup teammates, they partnered to win the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, and they have each won the BMW PGA Championship by a single shot. Now they will chase the same 54-hole leader on Sunday.

"We both have a job to do tomorrow," Lowry said.

The Rest of the Chase

Rose, the 2023 champion here, shot 68 to get to 14 under. Kim also shot 68, a round that included a 7-iron from just 103 yards at the 7th. Davis posted 69 to join them. Glover's 68 kept him within three.

Russell Henley, the first-round leader, shot 71 and is four back at 12 under. Scottie Scheffler shot 69 but sits six back at 10 under after a day where the wind made club selection a guessing game. His 5-iron at the 10th flew only 155 yards, 20 short, and he did not birdie a par 5 until the 18th.

"I hung in there on a day where I didn't have my best stuff," Scheffler said.

Sunday at Pebble

Seven players are within three shots: a leader chasing his second win of the season, two Irishmen who know each other's games better than anyone, and a former champion lurking two back. Straka has proved he can absorb a punch. McIlroy and Lowry have proved they can play in anything. Sunday decides which of those matters more.

Catch up on the week in our Round 1 recap and Round 2 recap. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR has more on McIlroy and Lowry's matching 65s (opens in a new tab).

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 3 recap, McIlroy and Lowry feature, leaderboard), AP, CBS Sports, Golf Today. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.