Mother Nature reared her head and fought back Friday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Wind and rain were present at all three host sites, but Pebble Beach Golf Links and those who played it during the second round Friday were facing a much more difficult course because of the wind than those who played Thursday. It played nearly two strokes tougher in round two.
And the weather isn’t expected to change much come Saturday, which will make for an entertaining weekend on the Monterey Peninsula.
Winds are forecast to continue blowing strong throughout Saturday’s round, with gusts getting up to 40 miles per hour, which forced the PGA Tour to move up third-round tee times by one hour.
The weather will have an impact come the weekend, but who has put themselves in the best position with 36 holes to play?
Don’t forget the cut will be made after Saturday’s third round.
Kitayama looking to build on runner-up finishes
Kurt Kitayama on the 10th hole during the second round of the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
Over the course of the past year, Kurt Kitayama has grown accustomed to being at the top of the leaderboards.
He tied for second at the Mexico Open at Vidanta, finishing behind Jon Rahm. Then he finished runner-up to Xander Schauffele at the Genesis Scottish Open. Earlier this season at the CJ Cup, Kitayama finished second behind Rory McIlroy.
He has come close, but some of the game’s star players have bested him in the past year. Now, he’s once again in position for his first PGA Tour win at 30 years old.
Kitayama played Pebble Beach Golf Links on Friday, firing a 2-under 70 after an opening 7-under 64 at Monterey Peninsula Country Club. He’s at 9 under for the tournament, which puts him in the lead with 36 holes to play.
Having that experience near the top of the leaderboard, he feels more prepared for the pressure.
“I think the more you put yourself in that position the more you can get comfortable feeling uncomfortable,” Kitayama said. “It’s definitely good experiences to fall back on and use come Sunday, hopefully.”
Kitayama will play Spyglass Hill Golf Course on Saturday, which is regarded as the toughest of the three in the rota during the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. However, forecasted winds and possible rain could make scoring hard to come by this weekend, meaning Kitayama has to take his opportunities as they come.
“Just got to stay patient. I think the weather — I’m not sure what the weather’s going to be, but I know it’s playing a lot tougher there than the other two courses,” Kitayama said. “So I think just kind of staying patient all around and get my birdies where I can.”
Lebioda stuck in neutral
Hank Lebioda lines up a putt during the second round of the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
A day after shooting 8-under 63 to be the first-round leader, Lebioda couldn’t find his groove come Friday at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
He was stuck in neutral, and a bogey on the par-4 ninth hole, Lebioda’s final of the day, helped him card an even-par 72 that featured three birdies, a bogey and a double bogey.
“It was definitely more difficult,” Lebioda said. “I thought there was a little bit more wind during my round than I had yesterday out at Monterey. Course is probably a little bit more difficult, as well. So a combination of those two things made it a challenging round.”
He’s in a big group tied for second, along with Keith Mitchell, Brandon Wu and Joseph Bramlett. Similar to Kitayama, he will play the difficult Spyglass Hill come Saturday.
However, Lebioda trusts his body of work and that he can remain in contention this weekend.
“The way that we saw it is that it was just going to be a matter of time. If I kept working our plan that we had made that good things would come,” Lebioda said. “Yes, the beginning of the season has not been good. It’s been a kind of a rough last 18 months almost. So I’m very lucky to be in this position today and this week. I know it’s just part of a long climb back.”
Power has round of the day
Seamus Power admits he didn’t play particularly well on Friday. His score shows the exact opposite.
Power fired the round of the day, a 7-under 64 at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, to vault into a tie for sixth heading into the weekend. And that style of play is something Power has done in the past.
“It’s something I kind of pride myself on,” Power said. “Made some good putts, hung in there when I wasn’t hitting a lot of great shots. So all in all very pleased but I would like to kind of see a little better ball striking so I’ll go work on that now for a while.”
The 35-year-old Irishman is ranked fifth in the FedEx Cup standings after winning the Butterfield Bermuda Championship last fall. Another win would help make his case stronger to join the European side in the Ryder Cup come the fall.
Power will tee it up Saturday at Pebble Beach Golf Links, and he’s a fan of the famous layout.
“I love Pebble Beach,” Power said. “It’s one of those things you kind of grow up dreaming about, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Every Rose has its ace
Justin Rose hits his chip shot on the 18th hole during the first round of the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Pebble Beach Golf Links. (Photo: Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports)
Justin Rose hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since the 2019 Farmers Insurance Open, but one swing helped put him in a great position after two rounds on the Monterey Peninsula.
Rose aced the 130-yard, par-3 15th hole at Spyglass Hill, his sixth hole of the day, helping him make the turn at 4 under. He shot 1 over on the back, but consecutive 3-under performances over the first two days have him in the top 10 heading into Saturday.
“A special day always when you manage to have a hole-in-one,” Rose said. “I believe it’s my 12th. Really fun to do, obviously in front of a couple of friends, obviously James [Gorman] at Morgan Stanley. So really that was a nice moment.”
A scary situation
An amateur caddy suffered a medical emergency Friday afternoon on the 11th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links.
He was on the bag for Geoff Couch when he collapsed and required CPR. The pros in the group, Beau Hossler and Max McGreevy, went to the clubhouse for a bit after the situation but eventually went back out and finished their rounds.
Story originally appeared on GolfWeek