Akshay Bhatia took the outright lead at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am with one round to play, while Rory McIlroy tumbled down the leaderboard after a dismal triple-bogey.

Bhatia shared the lead with Ryo Hisatsune going into Saturday's third round, but he now stands alone after a flying start that saw him make six birdies in his first seven holes.

He ended the day with a four-under score of 68, while Hisatsune struggled to a two-over score of 74 and dropped to a share of 11th. 

Bhatia's nearest rivals are Jake Knapp, Sepp Straka and Collin Morikawa, who are all two strokes off the lead, with the latter having surged into contention following a wonderful 10-under score of 62.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Bhatia noted that he dropped off on the final few holes but was content with his efforts overall. 

"All in all, yeah, it was a weird day," Bhatia said. 

"I felt like I lost some ground toward the end, but then I realised it just played so much harder for some of the guys that were in some of the last tee times."

Saturday scenes at Pebble 

5 players are within 3 shots heading into Sunday @ATTProAm.

(in partnership with @Rolex) pic.twitter.com/IIhlh8qAJh

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 15, 2026

Meanwhile, McIlroy crashed out of contention after a par round of 72, which left him tied for 39th at nine-under for the tournament. 

The Northern Irishman started with two birdies in the first three holes, though he was unable to recover from a triple-bogey on the fourth.