The China Mail - McIlroy and Lowry charge at Pebble Beach but Straka leads

The famed oceanside layout was struck by gusting winds, heavy rains and cold conditions for much of the day but Straka rallied for a two-under 70 to stand on 16-under-par 200 while McIlroy and Lowry battled through to shoot seven-under-par 65s.

Austria's Straka, who stumbled out of the lead with three bogeys to start the back nine, closed his late run with a four-foot birdie putt at the par-5 18th to regain the top spot.

"It was a bit of a roller coaster out there," Straka said. "Things got pretty tough. Wind. Rain. I didn't handle them too well. Struggled all day with speed on the greens because of the wind. Didn't adjust really well until the last few holes."

Straka, who won his third PGA Tour title just two weeks ago at the American Express event, opened with back-to-back birdies. But his second shot at the 10th faded right over a cliff and onto the beach to start a three-bogey run.

He answered with birdie putts at 14 and 15, sank a 29-foot birdie putt at the par-3 17th, then blasted out of a bunker to four feet at 18 and sank the putt.

"Really proud of the way I stuck it out and came back to get some birdies coming in. Hit some really big putts."

Four-time major winner McIlroy birdied three of the last four holes and 2019 British Open champion Lowry birdied three of the final five.

"It got really squally around seven, eight nine 10 for us. For me to play those holes at even par was huge," McIlroy said.

"Then it started to settle and it's a little more sheltered on the back nine and it was nice to pick up a few birdies on the way in."

Lowry had seven birdies, two bogeys and an eagle but battled conditions much of the day.

"Shot a good score but it was pretty miserable out there at times," said Lowry. "It was very important to birdie the easy holes because the hard holes were really hard."

England's Justin Rose and South Korea's Tom Kim each shot 68 to share fourth on 202 with Australian Cam Davis, who shot 69.

Northern Ireland's McIlroy seeks his 27th career PGA Tour triumph while Irish pal Lowry seeks his fourth PGA victory and first since he and McIlroy combined for last April's pairs crown at New Orleans.

"Let's hope one of us does the business," Lowry said.

McIlroy hopes for a rare California triumph.

"Tomorrow would be big for a lot of reasons," McIlroy said. "It's exciting to try and get my first win of the season. Historically, the West Coast hasn't been that good for me. Haven't played great at this golf course."

- Three-quarter shots -

Third-ranked McIlroy birdied four of the first eight holes to make his early charge.

He dropped his approach inside three feet at the 15th and tapped in for birdie, then sank a 26-foot birdie putt at 16 to grab the lead alone.

Lowry matched him with a birdie putt from just inside 17 feet at 16.

McIlroy hit the week's longest drive at the par-5 18th, 346 yards, then dropped his approach just inside 35 feet and two-putted to grab the lead.

Lowry matched him at the top again with a birdie at 18, blasting out of a greenside bunker to just outside seven feet and sinking the putt for the last of four back-nine birdies.

V.Fan--ThChM