Rory McIlroy has won multiple titles on some of the most famous courses on earth, with the four-time Major winner in contention to add a Pebble Beach victory to his CV.
Carding a seven-under 65 on Saturday, McIlroy is one shot back heading into the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and, speaking after his third round, the 35-year-old hopes the competitive nature of the tournaments at iconic courses "are going to be a big part" of the PGA Tour's landscape going forward.
McIlroy during his third round at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
"I think really good venues are a big part of the storyline," stated McIlroy, who is searching for a first win in California since the 2015 WGC-Cadillac Match Play.
"When we go to Major championships, especially a US Open and an Open Championship, I always feel like the golf course is a big part of the storyline heading into Thursday. Sometimes on the PGA Tour that isn't the case because, whether you play a run of the mill TPC or whatever it is, it just isn't that interesting.
"So to come back to Pebble Beach time and again and play, and Spyglass, I think Spyglass is a really, really good golf course. To play these two golf courses, it's definitely two of the best that we play all year. Yeah... if everything's on the table for whatever this new look PGA Tour's going to be, I think venues are going to be a big part of it."
Another aspect has been the introduction of Signature Events, something that brings the top of the crop of the PGA Tour together. The limited-man fields were dominated by World No.1 Scottie Scheffler in 2024, but the introduction of different and more iconic venues could play a big part, according to McIlroy.
McIlroy claimed one Signature Event in 2024, the Wells Fargo Championship
"I mean, you have a lot of good players up there. Yeah, it's hard. You're going to -- the best players aren't going to be on the top of the leaderboard every single week, or the most highly ranked players, but I think playing venues like this, it plays into some players' hands maybe more than others and they can excel. Just sort of like a Hilton Head does for some people. I hate Hilton Head and I don't like playing it but other people do. That's the cool thing about going to different golf courses."
Going into Sunday at Pebble Beach, McIlroy is 15-under-par and one back of his Ryder Cup teammate Sepp Straka. Shooting seven-under on Saturday, the bogey-free round from McIlroy was described by one of his playing partners as one of the best rounds he had ever seen.
However, despite the impressive third round, McIlroy is taking inspiration from World No.1 Scheffler, as he searches for a first win in 2025. "I played well. I didn't make any mistakes. One of the things I really -- I want to do this year is try to limit my mistakes and play bogey-free. Three of my last four rounds have been that way, last round in Dubai, first round here and now this round. Just really try to limit the mistakes and play smart golf and be a little more like Scottie Scheffler basically."
