Jordan Spieth 'very frustrated' after falling out of contention at Pebble Beach

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Jordan Spieth held on as long as he could.

Ultimately, he couldn't hold it together through the bitter end of his third round in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Spieth stood just two shots out of the lead on the 13th tee during another element-challenging day at Pebble Beach and he was well within reach of ending his victory drought that dates to the 2017 Open Championship.

Through 12 holes, he had managed to make do with a swing that was causing him fits. Then he swung away on the par-4 13th. The ball smacked a tree, fell straight down and left him 277 yards to the green. He needed five more shots to complete a double-bogey 6.

He came back with a birdie on the next and felt he was back into contention. But a bogey on the 17th and then a drive into Carmel Bay and a fourth shot into a hospitality tent led to a double-bogey 7 on the closing hole and a back-nine 40.

WANT MORE?Get the latest news and analysis at Golfweek

LEADERBOARD:Phil Mickelson chasing leader Paul Casey

Just like that - actually, it took 100 minutes but felt just as sudden - Spieth's chances of winning another title in Crosby's Clambake drifted out to sea. Instead of being in the mix Sunday for the championship hardware, he will start the final round eight shots behind leader Paul Casey.

"I'm very frustrated," said Spieth, whose rounds of 66-68-74 have him at 7-under. "If I just go par, par, I'm essentially still in this tournament with what's forecasted tomorrow. I kind of threw myself out of the tournament. It will affect me for a while. By the time I tee it up tomorrow, it will be a new goal set for the day."

Spieth said he was so out of rhythm that even when he was 2-under through five holes, he told his caddie, Michael Greller, that he just didn't feel as good as he did the first two days of the tournament when he took up residence on the top of the leaderboard.

"You can make due for so long, but when tough conditions come up, it's going to show its teeth," Spieth said. "You're not going to out-putt the golf course; you've got to stripe it out there."

Instead, Spieth was spraying his shots.

"It kind of stinks because I really had it going the last couple days and just didn't have the same rhythm today," said Spieth, whose most recent top-10 came in the 2018 Open Championship. "I drove the ball well the last two days, and then today I just, my driver just didn't behave at all. It was a 150-yard spread on either side and that's not good around Pebble Beach. So just try and come out tomorrow and hope the rhythm is back to (Friday's) standards."