PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Dustin Johnson poured in one last birdie at Poppy Hills, a quick putt from 7 feet above the hole that broke sharply into cup for a 5-under 67 and a four-stroke lead Saturday in the AT&T National Pro-Am.

There to celebrate his third straight round in the 60s were no more than about two dozen fans.

It was easy to overlook Johnson on Saturday, for the crowds typically flock to Pebble Beach to watch the celebrities and their follies. But if he can put together one more round, the 24-year-old Johnson will be difficult to ignore.

By overpowering the par 5s at Poppy Hills — birdies on all of them, with three eagle attempts — Johnson seized control at Pebble Beach and was poised to capture his second PGA Tour event in his last nine starts.

Johnson, a natural athlete with buckets of talent, didn't get as much attention as other players in their 20s last year, such as Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas. Then again, his lone victory came at Turning Stone, part of the Fall Series, when the stars stay home.

Another victory would put him in the conversation of rising young stars, put him into the top 50 in the world to qualify for the Accenture Match Play Championship and make him eligible for the first two majors, including his first trip to the Masters.

"I think I proved I can play with these guys," Johnson said. "If I play better a few more times, I'll get all the credit I need."

Johnson was at 15-under 201 and will be in the final group with Mike Weir, who had a 69 at Spyglass Hill.

The big question is whether anyone gets to play.

Spots of sunshine returned to the Monterey Peninsula for the third straight day as the celebrities took over Pebble Beach, but the forecast is gloomy for the final round — an 80 percent chance of rain, expected to be heavy at times.

Pebble Beach has not had a Monday finish since Tiger Woods' great rally in 2000, and it was 10 years ago this week when the late Payne Stewart birdied his final hole for a one-shot lead after 54 holes, which turned into victory when rain shortened the tournament.

Johnson appears to be in good shape either way.

Weir was plodding along at Spyglass Hill until he holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fifth hole, then hit the ball as well as he ever has. The former Masters champion hit a hybrid for his second shot to 8 feet on the sixth, a 3-wood to 6 feet on the par-3 seventh, and a 5-iron to 5 feet on the eighth. Trouble is, he missed all the putts.

But he knocked in a 20-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 69 that put him in the last group today.

"That putt on the last hole made it a little nicer finish," Weir said.

Retief Goosen was not so fortunate. Even after opening the tournament with rounds of 68-64, the two-time U.S. Open champion was concerned about how poorly he was hitting the ball, especially off the tee. That caught up to him at Spyglass, where he shot a 74 to fall five shots behind.

SBS Open

In Kahuku, Hawaii, Angela Stanford spoiled Michelle Wie's bid for a victory in her first start as an LPGA Tour member, overcoming a three-stroke deficit to win the season-opener by three shots Saturday.

Stanford closed with a 2-under 70 for a 10-under 206 total at wind-swept Turtle Bay, giving the Texan her fourth career win and third in seven starts. Wie had a disappointing 73 for her second straight runner-up finish in the tournament.

The 19-year-old hometown favorite was cruising along, but made a double bogey on No. 11 that gave Stanford the opening she needed.

Down by a stroke with six holes to play, Stanford used her irons to shoot her way back to the top of the leaderboard. She birdied three straight holes to reach 10 under and take a two-stroke lead over Wie with three holes to play.

The late birdie flurry provided Stanford complete momentum, while Wie helplessly watched. Wie had a chance to cut into Stanford's lead on No. 16, but lipped out a 3 1/2-foot birdie putt. She then bogeyed No. 17.

Champions Tour

In Boca Raton, Fla., Gil Morgan shot a flawless 7-under 65 and was tied with 61-year-old Tom Jenkins for the lead after the second round of the Allianz Championship.

Both got to the top of the leaderboard at 10 under after Bernhard Langer — a mere youngster at 51 — simply collapsed over the final four holes.

Fourteen different Champions Tour players have won after turning 60, with Morgan (62) the last in September 2007. He would become the third to do it multiple times, joining Hale Irwin (three) and Jimmy Powell (two).

All told, 13 players will start the final round within four shots of the lead. Mike Goodes (68) and Jerry Pate (71) were one shot off the lead, while Dan Forsman (65), Mark James (69), Larry Mize (69) and Fulton Allem (70) all were at 8 under.

Women's Australian Open

In Melbourne, Australia, two-time defending champion Karrie Webb shot her second straight 2-over 75, but remained just two strokes behind South Korea's Lee Chang-hee after the leader also shot a third-round 75.

Lee had a 5-under 214 after three rounds, a stroke ahead of Americans Alison Walshe (69) and Beth Allen (73).

Webb, who is attempting to win a her fifth Women's Australian Open, is in a four-way tie for fourth with Choi He-young of South Korea (71), Australian Emma Bennett (73) and Tania Elosegui of Spain (75) at 4-over 216.

Malaysian Open

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Australian Adam Blyth shot a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead heading into the final round.

Blyth had an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys in the third round and has a three-round total of 14-under 202, a shot ahead of China's Liang Wenchong (67) and Sweden's Alexander Noren (69) in the jointly sanctioned Asian Tour and European Tour event.

American Anthony Kang raced up the leaderboard with a 64 and is a stroke further back at 12 under. Joining him on that mark, and in similarly impressive fashion, were England's Miles Tunnicliff (63) and Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng (65).




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