Rory McIlroy will be making his PGA Tour season debut this week, but Pebble Beach is not the golf course to deploy him. Pebble is one of the least driver-heavy golf courses on the PGA Tour, and it consistently mitigates McIlroy’s advantage off the tee, which properly explains his porous 66th-place finish at this event last year.

Am, and heading into the final round on the Monterey Peninsula, it is perhaps the biggest in the field who is just out sharing the lead. Rory McIlroy was simply brilliant Saturday in the cold and blustery conditions as he navigated Pebble Beach Golf Links in bogey-free fashion en route to a 7-under 65 to sit one stroke behind 54-hole leader Sepp Straka at 16 under.

"I don’t think I’ve ever seen a golfer play as many bogey-free rounds as Scottie," McIlroy said. "He just doesn’t make mistakes."