Daniel Berger wins the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in style, for his fourth PGA victory.

Saturday morning arrived at the 75th annual  AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this year with a breeze. 

Every golfer who made the cut was playing on Pebble Beach Golf Links Saturday, Feb. 13, as the tournament moved into its third round. The pins had been moved from their original spots during the week and a few holes (the 4th and 17th) had been made longer. (The course played slower than during the week.)

Jordan Spieth started his day by going up 14 under par to the lead. Spieth enjoyed his lead for a few holes before Daniel Berger took the lead at 13 under par, while Spieth dropped to 11 under par. 

Patrick Cantlay remains in the top four conversation with Nate Lashley, Tom Hoge and Russel Knox. 

The day got significantly more eventful as the golfers moved to the last five holes. Spieth came up short on a put on the 15th hole that looked visibly painful. Immediately afterward on the 16th hole, he hit a dream shot for an eagle to tie for the lead with Berger. It was the shot of the day, curved beautifully from the fairway, touching down lightly on the green only to roll backward into the hole. It was the second time on Saturday that he holed out from over 100 yards. 

“I went from 2 back to 2 in the lead within 30 minutes,” Spieth said in a press conference afterward. “That just shows you how quickly things can change on this golf course.”

He continued on a roll on the 17th, hitting the green in a single shot. His tee shot on the 18th was a thing of beauty. Spieth ended Saturday in first, at 13 under par. 

“In golf, the ball is in your hands,” Spieth said, going into the final day of the tournament, Sunday, Feb. 14. “You get to win or lose it. I control my own destiny tomorrow.” 

Meanwhile, Berger struggled on the final three holes in Spieth’s shadow, ending Saturday in second at 11 under par tied with Lashley, Cantlay and Hoge.  “Today it was really tough,” Berger said. “It was blowing 15-20 miles an hour, but I’m not going to let it ruin my week for sure.”

And indeed, he did not let it ruin his week. It would be all Daniel Berger on Sunday as he began his morning by going 15 under par with an eagle on the sixth hole. All the while fending off a tough chase by Cantlay, who was 14 under par. “I played really well,” Cantlay said in summary. “I just didn’t get all the putts I needed to go in.”

It seemed that a little more weather had arrived overnight, and although there was no rain, the cloudy skies and wind played a role.

Spieth, who had been on fire on Saturday, stumbled to a tied third-place position alongside Patrick Casey and Russel Knox, at 12 under par. 

Berger had a scare on the 13th hole as Lashley momentarily took, but he was able to tie it back up on the following hole. “Yesterday I just kind of flared it,” Berger said. “I wanted to step up there today and be kind of aggressive.” 

The final six holes were critical as Maverick McNealy entered the fray to tie Berger for the lead. McNealy is a 25-year-old from Portola Valley who played Pebble Beach for the first time nine years ago as a 16th birthday gift from his father. 

As McNealy finished the round, he and Berger were tied at 17 under par. But Berger’s last three holes are something to be remembered, especially the 18th where he scored his fourth eagle of the tournament, clinching the victory at 18 under par. The young McNealy was watching anxiously from just behind the cameras as Berger sealed the final putt. He was visibly surprised, but not unhappy as he told reporters afterward. “I was really committed and decisive on every shot,” McNealy said, “and I just really got it going on the back 9.” 

Berger was elated as well, taking home his fourth title on the PGA Tour with his win at Pebble Beach. “One of the best finishing holes I’ve ever played, honestly,” Beger said. “To make that put was as good as it gets for me.”