Detroit News wire services
Akshay Bhatia shot 4-under-par 68 in the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Saturday to carry a two-stroke lead into the final round at Pebble Beach, Calif.
Bhatia lost some of his commanding lead by playing the final seven holes in 2 over after a sizzling start at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Pebble Beach scoreboard
He’s at 19-under 197 heading to Sunday.
Collin Morikawa made a big move with a 62 on Saturday to share second place with Jake Knapp (66) and Austria’s Sepp Straka (67). Jacob Bridgeman (68) is in fifth place at 16 under and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (67), who played without a bogey in the third round, is sixth at 15 under.
Bhatia, who was tied for the tournament lead at the midway mark after Friday’s round, began with birdies on six of the first seven holes Saturday.
The top six golfers on the leaderboard have played all three rounds with sub-70 scores.
Defending champion Rory McIlroy isn’t in contention after Saturday’s 72 put him at 9 under and tied for 39th place.
Rahm, DeChambeau to duel at Adelaide
Jon Rahm recorded a walk-off eagle on the 18th hole Saturday to pull into a tie with Bryson DeChambeau for first place after the third round of LIV Golf Adelaide in Australia.
The two stand at 19-under for the tournament, five strokes ahead of their nearest competitor.
Rahm’s electric finish to his round of 6-under 66 at Grange Golf Club wasn’t without questions, however.
The Spaniard’s initial drive on the par-4 final hole sailed off course, however his ball was ruled to be impeded by infrastructure brought in for the event. He was given a free relief on a line near the fairway. Rahm then holed out from approximately 200 feet to join DeChambeau atop the leaderboard.
That spoiled an otherwise brilliant day for DeChambeau, who made nine birdies in an 11-hole stretch to highlight his round of 8-under 64 on Saturday.
“Well, it was shocking, obviously. I didn’t know that’s what could happen, so that was most of what the shock was,” DeChambeau said of Rahm’s 18th hole. “It was like, what the heck, you can do that? I didn’t know that. But ultimately, I didn’t really know from my perspective that it was OK over there, so I was kind of shocked.”
Rahm was asked if the final round at Adelaide will represent the closest thing to a Ryder Cup Sunday singles tournament, given the big, loud crowds that have lined the course.
“Quite frankly, it’s hard to replicate Sunday in Ryder Cup,” the two-time LIV individual season champ said. “It’s hard to say it will be the same feel, especially we’re not home or away for anybody. It should in theory turn into a two-man race. In that essence, it should have that feel. But I wouldn’t put it past someone shooting 10-under (on Sunday).”
Anthony Kim (68 on Saturday) resides in third place at 14-under, one stroke ahead of a three-golfer contingent that includes home favorite Cameron Smith. The Australian joined that group with a sizzling bogey-free round of 8-under 64 on Saturday.
“Giving six shots to both Bryson and Jon is probably not where you want to be on the last day, to be honest,” Smith said. “It’s going to take a lot.
“If I went out there and played similar to what I did (on Saturday), I think I’m in with a chance. I don’t think it’s easy out there. I think you can definitely get on the back foot here quickly, particularly early in the round.”
Lucas Herbert (67) also is included in that group at 13-under after reeling off a string of six straight birdies.
As for the team competition, Rahm’s heroics have allowed Legion XIII to sit in first place at 45-under.
Smith and Herbert catapulted Ripper GC into second place at 40-under, two strokes ahead of Kim’s 4Aces GC.
Hull wins Saudi Ladies International
England’s Charley Hull shot a final-round 65 to rally from three shots back and win the PIF Saudi Ladies International by one shot in Riyadh on Sunday.
Hull began the day tied for 11th place and was only 1-under par through 12 holes at the Riyadh Golf Club. But the world’s No. 5-ranked player went 6 under over her final eight holes to reach 19 under for the tournament, and her clubhouse lead held up with a one-shot victory over South Africa’s Casandra Alexander and Japan’s Akie Iwai.
“It feels great,” Hull said. “It was funny because last time I was around here my boyfriend said to me go out and make loads of birdies to begin with. He said to me last night make loads of birdies coming in, you love chasing and that’s what I did.
“I feel great and I love this golf course. I like how this golf course has really matured over the years and it’s getting trickier each year. The grass is getting thicker and I really liked it. It was a good challenge.”
Hull made her turn in 2 under for the day. She dropped a shot on the 10th before beginning her run with a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch on hole Nos. 11-13. Hull added a birdie on No. 15 and closed with another on No. 18 to provide the final edge she needed.
“I worked really hard this offseason, so it’s nice to get a result pretty much straight away and it’s one of the bigger events on the LET,” said Hull, who took home the $631,625 winner’s prize.
Alexander had a chance to force a playoff but bogeyed the 17th hole.
“It’s been a great start to the season. There have been a lot of positives from this week, and I can learn from a couple of the shots, but overall, it was pretty solid,” Alexander said. “That gives me a great start to the season, the prep has been good and I’m excited to see what the rest of 2026 has in store for me.”
Iwai made seven birdies against a pair of bogeys in carding a 67 on Sunday, and three-putted the 17th green.
“My style of golf is very aggressive. Today I wanted to try (and go for it). Everything was good in my game,” Iwai said. “My driver, my shots and my putting were all good. On No. 17, I made a three-putt but it’s not a problem because there’s always next week.
“I like the golf course. The weather is a lot different than last year, it’s been lovely. Hopefully, this will give me a good feeling. I will keep going, have a smile on my face and play with my heart.”
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi finished in a tie for fourth place at 17 under.
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