European Ryder Cup Foursome Lead The Way At Pebble Beach

Four members of the victorious 2023 European Ryder Cup team lead the way heading to the final round of the AT & T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The foursome – Austrian Sepp Straka, the Irish duo of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry along with 2023 Pebble Beach winning hero Justin Rose – battled the wild, wet and windy conditions to be within two shots of each other in the $20m ‘Signature’ event.

Straka was also fighting the flu to remain in front by a shot at 16-under as he seeks a third Tour success also in his third appearance at Pebble Beach.

“I battled some flu symptoms out there most of the week”, he said. “Yeah,
honestly, the pro-am format might have helped me the first two days, it was kind of a slow round so I could kind of take my time and save some energy.

“Yeah, definitely feeling a little bit fatigued, but honestly with these conditions, even if I was 100 percent, I would be feeling a little bit fatigued. Yeah, just looking forward to tomorrow”.

McIlroy is also making a third showing while Lowry a sixth, and both players each sensationally recording an ace on day one of the event.

And McIlroy being quizzed after his round about two Irish being side-by-side on the leaderboard.

“I don’t know. We both live in Florida now, so can’t say”, said McIlroy. “We don’t play in this weather that often anymore but we did grow up in it. I would say Shane’s historically been a better bad weather player than I have been, but it is cool to see both of us up there near the top of the leaderboard”.

And speaking of aces, Rose had an ace on route to victory two years as the now 44-year-old, and a likely 2027 European Ryder Cup Captain, seeks a 12th PGA Tour win and the 26th of his long pro career.

Here, and with thanks to the PGA Tour, is notes from the third round play.

Weather: Cloudy with rain showers. High of 59. Wind SSW 14-20 mph, with gusts up to 28 mph.

Third-Round Leaderboard

Pos. Player R1 R2 R3 Total
1 Sepp Straka 65 SH 65 PB 70 200 (-16)
T2 Rory McIlroy 66 SH 70 PB 65 201 (-15)
T2 Shane Lowry 66 PB 70 SH 65 201 (-15)
T4 Justin Rose 65 PB 69 SH 68 202 (-14)
T4 Tom Kim 69 SH 65 PB 68 202 (-14)
T4 Cam Davis 65 PB 68 SH 69 202 (-14)

Sepp Straka (1st/-16)

  • 36-hole leader maintains the lead following a third-round 2-under 70; sits one clear of 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans champions Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry
  • Holds the 54-hole lead/co-lead for the second time (2025 American Express/won)
  • Bidding to post the third consecutive win on TOUR by a player from the University of Georgia (Straka/The American Express, Harris English/Farmers Insurance Open)
  • Leads field in birdies (22), Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (9.981; career-best thru 54 holes), Strokes Gained: Approach the Green (5.580) and Sand Saves (6/6)
  • Making third career appearance at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (MC/2019, T26/2024)
  • Three-time PGA TOUR winner, bidding for his second win this year (2025 American Express)
  • Making fourth start of the season (T15/The Sentry, T30/Sony Open in Hawaii, won/The American Express)
  • Finished T27 in the 2024 FedExCup standings, his sixth consecutive season qualifying for the FedExCup playoffs and third straight year advancing to the TOUR Championship

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry

  • 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans champions turn in the round of the day with matching 7-under 65s
  • Each had an ace in round one (McIlroy/No. 15/Spyglass, Lowry/No. 7/Pebble Beach) and own identical scores (66-70-65)
  • The last player to make an ace and go on to win is Justin Rose at this event in 2023

Rory McIlroy (T2/-15)

  • World No. 3 and three-time FedExCup champion posts a bogey-free 7-under 65
  • Seeks to win in his season debut for the third time in his career, with both coming in THE CJ CUP (2021, 2022)
  • Leads the field with 26 victories (T22 all time), most recently at the 2024 Truist Championship
  • Third appearance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (MC/2018, T66/2024)
  • Leads the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (3.830) and Driving Distance (337.8)

Shane Lowry (T2/-15)

  • Sixth appearance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (T21/2015, T41/2016, T14/2017, T43/2018, MC/2019)
  • Three wins in 186 starts (2015 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, 2019 Open Championship, 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans)
  • Missed the cut in his season debut at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open

Miscellaneous Notes

  • 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am champion and 11-time PGA TOUR winner Justin Rose (T4/-14) seeks to become the event’s 13th multiple winner
  • Making his second appearance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (T31/2024), Tom Kim (T4/-14) is in search of his fourth PGA TOUR win (2022 Wyndham Championship, 2022 and 2023 Shriners Children’s Open)
  • Cam Davis (T4/-14) leads the field with three eagles (R1/PB/No. 6, R2/SH/No. 1, R3/PB/No. 14); would become the sixth international winner of the event and third from Australia (Bruce Crampton/1965, Brett Ogle/1993)
  • World No. 1 and 13-time PGA TOUR winner Scottie Scheffler (T10/-10) trails by six in bid for his eighth win in his last 15 starts; two reigning FedExCup champions have won in their season debut (Tiger Woods/2008 Farmers Insurance Open, Rory McIlroy/2022 CJ CUP in South Carolina)
  • Scoring averages at Pebble Beach Golf Links: R1 (68.175), R2 (69.976), R3 (71.558)


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