AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Bird race puts Akshay Bhatia ahead

Akshay Bhatia took a two-point lead after the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, as fellow American Collin Morikawa’s round of 62 pushed him into contention for his first win in nearly two-and-a-half years.

Bhatia was tied for first at 15 under with Ryo Hisatsune going into today’s play, but six birdies in his first seven holes helped him on his way to a five-shot lead at one point.

In windy conditions in California, his advantage fell to two, a bogey on 17.

Then, storms slowed play significantly on the final green and a missed birdie putt left Bhatia’s 68 card at 19 under.

Morikawa’s round, which was 10 under par, saw him climb the leaderboard to second place at 17 under par.

An eagle on the final hole — after he pulled the same on the first hole — moved another American, Jake Knapp, into second place with his round score of 66.

Austrian Sepp Straka achieved a three-way tie with a score of 67.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy, who trailed by six points at the start of the day, dropped out of the race as a par of 72 left him 10 behind.

With heavy rain and strong winds expected on Sunday, the start times for the final round of the tournament have been moved forward and will now run from 07:22 to 09:45 local time, with three-way sets suspended.