Weir & Oberholser moves clear of field - AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am 2006

Despite a breeze that came in from the ocean, the biggest breath of wind on the Monterey Peninsula Saturday was the sigh of relief exhaled by Mike Weir after his round at Spyglass Hill.

Weir, who has struggled at the course, shot a 3-under-par 69 to tie Arron Oberholser for the third-round lead at the $5.4 million AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Both golfers are at 17-under 199 and lead Luke Donald by six strokes.

There are three golf courses used in the first three days of the tournament, that has amateurs and celebrities paired with professionals. Weir shot 63 at Pebble Beach and a 67 at Poppy Hills and had a three-stroke lead entering the third round.

Weir isn't concerned that he lost that margin to Oberholser, who shot a 6-under 66. He is just glad he is tied for the lead, especially with the conditions the toughest they have been in three days.

"The wind was blowing pretty hard," Weir said. "I was pretty happy with 69."

Weir said he has difficulty with Spyglass Hill, which traditionally is the toughest of the three courses, but in the third round he felt comfortable.

It looked like his trouble with the course would continue. He made a bogey on the first hole, but quickly corrected his mistake. He made birdie on the second hole and a bogey and birdie later was at even-par through the front nine. On the back nine, though, Weir went bogey-free and added three birdies.

Oberholser, who went out about 30 minutes earlier than Weir, was handling Pebble Beach. He made three birdies on the front nine, including ones on his eighth and ninth holes, Nos. 17 and 18. On 17 he made a 17-foot birdie putt and he dropped a 40-footer on 18. On his back nine he had four birdies and a bogey. Two of his birdie putts were from over 20 feet.

For the third consecutive day the weather was benign, with sunny skies and no wind. Oberholser certainly took advantage of it.

"Any time you get to play Pebble Beach with the sun shining is always nice in February," Oberholser said. "It's been real nice this week, everywhere, all three golf courses."

Though he is winless, Oberholser has been in the final group a few times, including this event in 2004, when he was tied with Vijay Singh going into the final round.

Oberholser shot a 76 and finished tied for fourth, admitting he was intimidated by Singh.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself because of growing up in this area," Oberholser said. "Obviously that was unwarranted, because I was still the underdog, but I looked at myself kind of as the favorite, sad enough, probably a mistake."

This time, Oberholser is determined not to think about how badly he wants to win his first PGA Tour event and worry about more pressing matters.

"I'm just thinking about right now," Oberholser said. "And dinner tonight."

Weir certainly has the advantage when it comes to the final round, though neither golfer's record is very good when holding a 54-hole lead. Weir is 1-for-7 and Oberholser is 0-for-2.

Give Weir the advantage for experience at the event. While Oberholser finished tied for fourth in 2004, Weir has finished in the top 5 the last three years, including second last year, but isn't discounting his opponent.

"I remember when I was shooting for my first win," Weir said. "It's a different mindset when you are going for your first win, but I think Arron is definitely ready for it."

Phil Mickelson made a run, but was hurt by making par on all of the par-5s. He finished with a 5-under 67 and is nine strokes out of the lead. He broke the streak of defending champions missing the cut. The last four have not played on Sunday.

While Mickelson made the cut, some notable players did not, including Bubba Watson, Jesper Parnevik and Fred Funk.