The fading light was enough for Justin Rose to see his final shot to find the 10th fairway at Pebble Beach, and it was enough for him to call it a day.
He was 9 under through 19 holes, playing two courses in wind, rain, sleet and sunshine in the weather-delayed AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He moved from the middle of the pack to a two-shot lead on Sunday evening when it was too dark to continue.
Rose was scheduled to return on Monday morning to finish the back nine in search of his first win in four years.
Rose said, “A two shot lead is fantastic.” “Normally, you sleep on a two shot lead, have 18 holes to play, 18 holes can have a ton. Now there are eight holes to play. Eight holes can have less, but still. .. I still have to come out and work tomorrow.”
Rose, who finished his third round with a 6-under 65 to hold a one-shot lead in the morning at the Monterey Peninsula, was at 15-under par when the final round was halted as the sun dipped behind the Pacific horizon.
Denny McCarthy also played the Monterey Peninsula in the morning, with eight pars and a bogey on the front nine to leave him six shots behind. A change of location, and a quick call with his sports psychologist changed everything.
McCarthy shot a 29 on the front nine at Pebble Beach with a favorable wind to climb into contention. After the horn sounded he decided to continue down the 16th hole, hitting his approach to 15 feet and then opting to mark his ball and stay in for the night.
He was on 13-under par with Brendan Todd (through 12 holes) and Peter Malnati, who was in the last group with Rose.
“It was very quickly obtainable. I just happened to receive it,” McCarthy said. “I was feeling nervous, but at the same time I also felt really calm. I took a few tee shots… and felt really comfortable after that start.”
The only winner on Sunday was Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who won the Pro-Am with Canada’s Ben Silverman. Due to wind and other weather delays, the Pro-Am was cut to 54 holes, leaving only professionals for the final round.
Rodgers and Silverman won by one shot.
He puts his name on the Wall of Champions in front of the first tee at Pebble Beach, which Rodgers called a “bucket list” item for him.
Rose would love to be on the plaque with the tournament winners.
He was in the middle of the pack when he returned to the Monterey Peninsula on Sunday morning to resume the third round. It was his golf ball that flew about 4 feet on the ninth green that caused officials to stop play the day before.
Rose hit a 5-wood to 3 feet on Saturday. He made a 7-foot putt on Sunday morning and was on his way.
After a slow start in the final round – a bogey early on, even across some scoreable sections of the front nine – Rose entered the fairway bunker on the par-5 sixth and thought he would be fighting for birdie. And then he changed his mind.
“It would have been easy to play a different shot, just try to hit a high cut 7-iron over the top of the ridge, give yourself a wedge shot,” he said. “But I only had 214 (yards) in front of me, so the shot was on.”
He chipped a 4-iron that rolled to 8 feet on the green, and followed it up with an 18-foot birdie putt on the 106-yard seventh hole.
“At that point I was looking for some momentum, looking for something good to happen,” Rose said. “He came at the perfect time for me.”
Sunday saw wind, rain, sleet and sunshine for a while, and it was all in three hours to complete the third round of the morning. By late afternoon the players went from umbrella to shadow viewing in 15-minute intervals.
The toughest stretch for Rose could wait for Monday, depending on the wind, and the weather at Pebble has a mind of its own. The final stretch of holes proved to be the most difficult. Six of the last seven holes are ranked among the eight toughest holes for the final round.
Taylor Penrith of Canada was among the 20 players who were eliminated. He birdied 31 and played a bogey-free 64 to post 12-under 275. He finished three shots behind Rose, but it was worth watching to see how it unfolded.
Rodgers did his share of the heavy lifting. Silverman, fresh off a Korn Ferry Tour win, finished at 1-over 216 and missed the cut. Rodgers, playing with a 10 handicap, said he hadn’t played golf since training camp until last Monday.
He finished at 26-under par.
Buffalo Bills quarterbacks Josh Allen and Keith Mitchell were four behind. Minus the weather, the leading 25 Pro-Am teams would have played on Sunday afternoon.
Rodgers said, “Josh Allen was telling me this win was going to be an asterisk because there were only three rounds.” “But I think our names are going to be out there for a long time.”