Batia still at AT&T Pro Am; bad weather in the forecast

PEBBLE BEACH — Collin Morikawa had the best round Saturday. Akshay Bhatia remained in the lead. But if the final round forecast is in any way accurate, this 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in the end may belong to the anonymous but uninvited character we call the weatherman.

Conditions at Pebble Beach for three rounds have been acceptable and, at times, favorable.  How else would Morikawa on Saturday shoot a 62—as did Ryo Hisatsune two rounds earlier? Or Akshay Bhatia continue his outstanding play, starting off with birdies on six of the first seven holes?

But the wind that arrived late morning Saturday is supposed to get stronger and nastier for the scheduled final round. 

So who knows what may happen, although the probability is that the guys playing well will continue that trend. Whatever nature brings onto the Monterey Peninsula. 

Bhatia had his worst round of the tournament, a 4-under par 68, and was still good enough to keep him in front with a 54-hole score of 197, 19 under par.

He’s two shots ahead of three others, Morikawa (62), Sepp Straka (67), and Jake Knapp (66).

Hisatsune fell back to a 74 and is tied at 203 with Rickie Fowler (73). They are five shots ahead of Scottie Scheffler, who had a 68 today and is standing 22nd, and needs a top finish to keep alive a streak of 17 consecutive tournaments in the top ten.

Pebble Beach this week has been particularly friendly after several days of rain earlier in the week. The greens hold. The fairways are smooth. Still, if the forecast is correct—starting times Sunday were moved up an hour because of the weather threat—Pebble Beach again could be a beast.

Morikawa is the Cal grad with two major championships. He well understands what has taken place and what might take place.

“When Mother Nature comes, and it rains,” said Morikawa, “it makes greens a lot softer, it just takes the teeth out of it. Unfortunately, that’s just what’s in front of us, and we have to deal with it.” 

Truth be told, what might be ahead of everyone if 30 mph gusts hit the course are situations that frustrate and irritate.

“You get balls oscillating on the greens forward and backwards,” said Badia. “And you’re just trying to make a good stroke, and then you’re trying to make sure you kind of hopefully get the ball to start somewhere near the hole.”

Early on, before the wind came on, the 23-year-old Bhatia made plenty of good strokes. He was in the right place at the right time and took advantage of it. 

“It was great to start the day,” said Bhatia. “It was kind of blowing perfect, say 10 to 15. So all in all, a weird day. Like I felt like I lost some ground towards the end, but then I realized it just played so much harder for some of the guys that were in some of the last tee times.”

But if predictions for Sunday are accurate, it could be much more difficult. Buckle your seat belts.