AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Final round pushed to Monday, fingers crossed

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — A few hours after delaying the fourth round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, officials canceled play for the day Sunday and scheduled the pending final round for Monday.

Strong winds and rain Saturday continued overnight. By mid-morning Sunday, the rain had eased, but the winds had just picked up strength, often blowing over 30 mph.

Officials postponed the tournament at about 10 a.m. “due to safety concerns.” Gates were closed for spectators and volunteers Sunday and all facilities were closed.

Round 4 is now scheduled for Monday, beginning no earlier than 10 a.m. from the first and 10th holes.

“With a potentially historic storm system hitting California on Sunday, the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has been suspended,” the PGA Tour staff posted on its website.

According to officials, the final round will start with the potential for further delays as high winds and heavy rains hit the California coast.

Wyndham Clark, the reigning U.S. Open winner, has a one-shot lead over Ludvig Åberg of Sweden after shooting a course-record 60 on Saturday.

If the weather prevents the fourth round from being completed, Clark will claim his third PGA Tour title with his 54-hole total of 199 or 17-under-par. Clark also won the Wells Fargo Championship last season.

“The wind is our biggest concern right now for safety,” Gary Young, the PGA Tour’s chief referee, told Golf Channel on Saturday night. “I think we’ve made pretty good adjustments to green speeds that we could probably keep balls at rest up until about 40 mph.

“Once we get north of that it’s going to be pretty difficult. If we get those rain amounts I’m talking about, that will probably play into the decision as well.”

Pebble Beach was expected to receive several inches of rain on Sunday. The course also is expected to receive close to a half-inch of rain on Monday morning.

Young said the final round would need to start by 10:15 a.m. Monday to be completed.

“We’re already dealing with a very soggy golf course and at that point, we’re making the decision whether or not we think that the standards for professional golf are there,” Young said.

Clark said he thought about the possibility of a 54-hole tournament during his historic round.

“I definitely thought about it last night and this morning with everyone saying how bad the weather’s going to be,” Clark said after his 12-under round that included two eagles, nine birdies and one bogey.

“You’ve got to have that mentality that today’s the last day so try to go for broke. With that said, that’s very rare that we have 54 holes, so I wasn’t banking on that and I’m still not banking on it.”

The AT&T has been limited to 54 holes at Pebble Beach six times, most recently Dustin Johnson’s victory in 2009.