Peter Malnati made six birdies in 12 holes but then got cut off.
Malnati was a bogey-free six-under-par through 12 holes at Pebble Beach Golf Links before high winds and rain cut short the third round of the 82nd AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and he held a two-stroke lead over Joseph Bramlett and Keith Mitchell.
The third round will be completed on Sunday, before the 54-hole cut is made and the final round begins, but will not be finished until Monday in the former Crosby Clambake. However, the pro-am portion of the tournament will end with winners crowned after 54 holes so the pro event can be completed.
“I got to play eight holes before the weather got bad, so that was nice,” said Malnati, whose only PGA Tour victory came in the 2016 Sanderson Farms Championship, who had three early birdies. “Then made the turn and made three birdies into the wind on one, two and three.
“Honestly, like where I was, I was on the fourth green, I was getting ready to go play five, six, seven into the teeth of that wind, so who knows. I wish we were still out there playing for the sake of the tournament, but for me maybe it was a good break getting out of there at the time that I did.
“Yeah, I mean, yes and no (about the stoppage). I want to be out there and like I hate it for this tournament, that this is going on because the Pro-Am portion is such an amazing part of this event. It’s part of what makes it special. So I hate that for the tournament that they’re going to have to cut the Pro-Am part short. So that stinks.”
Malnati, who also won the 2013 New Sentinel Open and the 2015 Brasil Champions on what is now the Korn Kerry Tour, started at number 10 at Pebble and birdied holes 11 through 13, before making birdies on the first three hole of the front time and was at 12-under for the tournament.
Mitchell, who opened with 67-68, made three birdies in four holes through No. 6 before making his first bogey of the round at No. 10 at Pebble Beach and was at 10-under for the tournament and tied with Bramlett, who after starting 68-67 was 2-under through 13 holes at Pebble and 10-under for the tournament.
“We knew going into today that those holes (near the coast at Pacific Ocean) were going to be the tough holes,” said Mitchell, whose only PGA Tour came in the 2019 Honda Classic. “That was going to be the hardest stretch potentially all week. If we could make it through that stretch in a relatively good score, I would be set up for the weekend.
“I knew when they blew the horn what it was. I figured we were just going to stop in place for a little bit. Maybe we go back out. But the forecast, every time you looked at the forecast it looked like it was going to get windier and windier.”
Said Bramlett, from Mountain View and Stanford: “It’s a guessing game. We’re just doing our best and hoping to keep playing.”
Kurt Kitayama, the second-round leader from Chico and UNLV, was even par after nine holes at Spyglass Hill Golf Course and nine-under for the tournament in a tie fourth with Hank Lebioda, the first-round leader at 63, who was 1-under after 11 holes at Spyglass Hill.
Beau Hossler of Mission Viejo was five-under through 15 holes for round three at Spyglass Hill and eight-under for the tournament in a tie for sixth with Brandon Wu, who was even-par for the day through 13 holes at Pebble Beach, Andrew Novak, who was two-under through 13 at Spyglass Hill, 11th-ranked Viktor Hovland of Norway who was two-under through nine at Pebble Beach, and Brant Grant, who was two-under through nine at Spyglass Hill.
Sung Kang of South Korea had the best round going at Monterey Peninsula Country Club with a score of four-under through 10 holes and was in a tie for 11th at seven-under.
Defending champion Tom Hoge was at four-over-par through 12 holes at Monterey Peninsula and in danger of missing the cut at one-over in a tie for 88th, while 10th-ranked Matt Fitzpatrick of England was five-over through eight holes at Pebble and in a tie for 133rd at seven-over.
For complete results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html
