Jimmy Walker, Jordan Spieth tie for lead at Pebble Beach

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- The wind and the rain arrived Friday, perhaps a prelude to a nasty weekend. Leave it to a pair of Texans — Jimmy Walker and Jordan Spieth — to thrive in Crosby Clambake conditions at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Walker made some tough par saves and shot a bogey-free, three-under-par 69 at Spyglass Hill. Spieth was down the coast at Monterey Peninsula, where he called the birdie on his final hole the best of his life. He’s only 20, but it was a proud moment.

They were tied for the lead going into the third round, one shot ahead of Hunter Mahan.

The slight advantage would go to Walker, who was at nine-under 135. Already a two-time winner this season, Walker next goes over to Monterey Peninsula, the easiest of the three courses in the rotation. Spieth was at nine-under 134 and headed to Pebble Beach, which can be brutal in nasty weather.

And the forecast for Saturday was not particularly pleasant.

Along with a three-club wind on the exposed sections of all three courses, steady rain began coming down sideways toward the end of the second round. There was about a 75% chance for more rain Saturday.

More than looking ahead, Spieth was looking behind. He was happy to at least get Spyglass out of the way already, having opened with a 67 on Thursday. That didn’t make the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula a picnic.

“Today was very difficult,” Spieth said. “We started out in the rain and wind, and we finished in rainier and windier,” he said.

Spieth caught Walker for a share of the lead on the 187-yard ninth hole, which typically requires a 6-iron. He watched Kevin Chappell hit first with a 3-iron, and the ball rolled back down off the front of the green. Spieth doesn’t carry a 3-iron.

“I went to a hybrid,” he said. “And I just kind of hit a little stinger cut about 20 feet away. And then it was normally a straight putt and Michael (Greller) and I, my caddie, are looking at each other saying, `Well, we’ve got to play this about a foot out to the right with the wind.’ And so I hit it a foot out. With about 3 feet to go, the wind just blew it right, just broke perfectly right into the hole.”

Mahan had a 68 at Spyglass Hill, with half of his six birdies on the par-five holes. He was at eight-under 136.

Andrew Loupe, who has missed every cut in his rookie season so far, followed his 63 at Monterey Peninsula with a 73 at Pebble Beach. That wasn’t too bad, for Pebble Beach was playing to an average of 74.1, about 2 1/2 strokes more difficult than Thursday. He was at seven-under 136 and plays Spyglass on Saturday.

Phil Mickelson finished off his 66 at Monterey on Friday morning, and then got an early indication at Pebble Beach that this might be a long day. He three-putted from five feet above the hole on the par-five second for a double bogey. Mickelson holed some good birdies, but missed plenty of short ones. A three-putt bogey on the 18th at Pebble gave him a 73, and he was at four-under 139.

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Michael Allen matched the Champions Tour record with a 12-under 60 in the Allianz Championship at Boca Raton, Fla., finishing the first round with an eagle and 10 birdies.

The 55-year-old Allen became the ninth player in the history of the 50-and-over tour to shoot 60 and the first to accomplish the feat on a par-72 course. Allen opened on the 10th hole and played each nine in six-under 30.

Scott Dunlap was second at 63, and Tom Lehman, Chien Soon Lu and Wes Short Jr. shot 65.

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GOLD COAST, Australia (AP) — Cheyenne Woods, Tiger Woods’ niece, shot a six-under 67 for a share of the second round lead in the Australian Ladies Masters at Gold Coast, while eight-time winner Karrie Webb was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.

South Africa’s Stacy Lee Bregman also shot 67 to match Woods at 10 under at Royal Pines in the event sanctioned by the European and Australian tours.
Webb, the winner last year, signed for a par instead of a bogey on the 12th hole. The Australian star shot 75 after opening with a 74.