Weir, Oberholser continue to rock Pebble Beach

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Arron Oberholser wants to forget his last time in contention at Pebble Beach.

Mike Weir embraces his memories.

After three days on the Monterey Peninsula, Weir and Oberholser were far atop the leaderboard Saturday afternoon in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, six shots clear of anyone else, both eager to leave with different results.

Oberholser sailed through cool, breezy Pebble Beach at 6-under-par 66 and gave himself a shot at redemption. Two years ago, he was tied with Vijay Singh going into the final round and stumbled to a 76.

“Those days are behind me,” Oberholser said.

Weir saw Oberholser at 17-under 199 when he walked up to the 18th green at Spyglass Hill, then holed a 20-foot putt with 2 feet of break for a 69 to join him in the lead. The Canadian has finished in the top 10 five of the last six years at Pebble Beach, and no worse than fourth the last three times.

“I’ve been close,” Weir said. “I’ve played good rounds on Sunday, but not quite good enough. I’ve always played well at Pebble, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Luke Donald had a 71 at Poppy Hills and was at 11-under 205.

Winless in three full seasons on the PGA Tour, the 31-year-old Oberholser never had a chance two years ago playing head-to-head with Singh, who went on to win nine tournaments and rise to No. 1 in the world. Oberholser recalls getting wrapped up in the amazing shots hit by Singh and losing sight of his game.

That seems like a lifetime ago.

“I’m a little wiser, obviously a little older, more experience, and I’m really starting to not sweat the small stuff,” Oberholser said. “I was a completely different person than I am now.”

What lies ahead is a great chance to win for the first time on the PGA Tour, and he could not think of a better place. Oberholser considers Pebble Beach to be his hometown event, having grown up in San Mateo about two hours up the road and playing college golf at San Jose State.

On a day when comedian Bill Murray tackled a TV cameraman and tied him up with cables, and other celebrities drew most of the attention at Pebble Beach, Oberholser had his group of fans who cheered a familiar face who has been playing on the Monterey Peninsula since he was a kid.

Weir knows the feeling.

He had three chances to win before he finally broke through in 1999 at the Air Canada Championship in Vancouver, British Columbia, before a home country crowd that was deafening.

Weir thinks that might be an obstacle for Oberholser to overcome today, noting that so much support can make a player try too hard. And he knows how difficult it is to win for the first time.