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Jason Day insists he is close to winning on the US PGA Tour again after another solid performance at the Pebble Beach Pro Am.

Day earned a top-five finish at the US PGA Tour event on California's famed Monterey Peninsula but admits an uncharacteristically cold putter let him down.

With a two-hour rain delay in Sunday's final round, Day was one of the last groups to finish before sunset and carded a four-under-par 68.

At 13-under, he cannot finish worse than a tie for fourth place.

Phil Mickelson sits at 18 under and leads by three shots from final group playing partner Paul Casey and Scott Stallings (66).

Mickelson and Casey were unable to tee off on the par-3 17th due to darkness and will return on Monday morning.

Day now has six top-six results in 10 starts at the celebrity-laden Pebble Beach event but was frustrated that victory still eludes him.

Typically one of the best putters on the PGA Tour, Day ranked 39th on the greens this week.

"It was disappointing not to play well in the third round but overall it was a good solid week," Day told AAP.

"The ball striking was very good but I didn't putt well at all this week."

However, the former world No.1 is inspired by consecutive top-five results in his last two PGA tour starts, after a share of fifth at Torrey Pines last month.

Day's next events are the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in early March and the elite Players Championship immediately after - both events he won in 2016.

The 31-year-old says he will now spend considerable time practising his putting with long-time coach Colin Swatton.

"I'm looking forward to getting back at it at Bay Hill," Day said.

"My game is definitely there; I just need to put four rounds together and if I can, I will definitely win.

"I'm going to spend the next few weeks working on driving, irons and short game but my putting needs to improve.

"For me to win I need to putt well."

Curtis Luck was next best of the Australians at Pebble Beach, finishing in a share of 28th at six under courtesy of a final-round 71.

Matt Jones was a further three shots back with his even-par 72 leaving him tied 53rd, while fellow Sydney native Cameron Davis dropped six shots during a 78 that plummeted him to three over.

Phil Mickelson and Paul Casey will finish the final two holes of the Pebble Beach Pro Am on Monday morning after disagreeing on whether to press on when darkness fell on Sunday.

At 18-under-par and with a three-shot lead, a frustrated Mickelson wanted to race through the par-3 17th and par-5 18th despite Englishman Casey admitting he couldn't see.

The final round was suspended for two hours earlier on Sunday due to heavy rain and hail.

The final pairing will return at 8am on Monday, with Casey facing a short par putt at the 16th to stay at 15 under.

"We were not going to get 18 (holes) done; it's very dark and I couldn't see," Casey said.

"If I'm not going to get done, let's just call it right now."

Mickelson is gunning for his fifth victory at the Pebble Beach Pro Am and, despite the sun already setting, attempted to convince a rules official to let them finish the round.

"I get exactly where Paul is coming from; I have pretty good vision, so I could see fine and I am playing well ... I wanted to keep going," Mickelson said.

"But (coming back) is a good thing; we'll play the last couple holes in perfect conditions."

American Scott Stallings shot 66 to post a 15-under score.

Australia's Jason Day was in one of the last groups to finish before sunset and carded a four-under-par 68.

At 13-under, he cannot finish worse than a tie for fourth place.

Day now has six top-six results in 10 starts at the celebrity-laden Pebble Beach tournament but was frustrated that victory still eludes him.

"It was disappointing not to play well in the third round, but overall it was a good solid week," he told AAP.

"The ball striking was very good but I didn't putt well at all this week."

Curtis Luck was next best of the Australians, finishing in a share of 28th at six under courtesy of a final-round 71.

Matt Jones was a further three shots back with his even-par 72 leaving him tied 53rd, while fellow Sydney native Cameron Davis dropped six shots during a 78 that plummeted him to three over.

Sarah Kemp laid down the early challenge and Su Oh threatened to make a late charge, but both came up just short as France's Celine Boutier hung tough on Sunday to win the women's Vic Open.

Boutier made a crucial birdie on the par-4 15th hole and showed nerves of steel to claim a two-shot victory in the $1.5 million tournament at 13th Beach.

"I've been working really hard for the last two years," said the 25-year-old Boutier.

"I'm just so happy that I was able to get my first win on the LPGA Tour today.

"I'm very happy with the way I handled myself.

"I was kind of struggling a little bit in the beginning but I just held on and kept fighting to the end."

Boutier carded a final round of level-par 72 to finish on eight-under 281, while Australian duo Kemp (65) and Oh (74) and England's Charlotte Thomas (69) tied for second on 283.

After just making the third-round cut, Kemp teed off on Sunday morning in the second group.

She began her round inauspiciously with a double-bogey before turning things around in dramatic fashion with nine birdies, including five in succession beginning at the fourth hole.

But believing she was still well out of contention, Kemp left the course to enjoy a "big fat Mexican wrap" and a celebratory drink.

Then the late starters began going backwards and it looked for a while as though her total of 283 might be good enough for an unlikely spot in a playoff.

"But once Celine hit her tee shot on 18, I got another drink," Kemp said.

"She had been putting so well; she's a good player; she's won before.

"I didn't expect to be in this situation.

"I made the cut on the number and everything after that was a bonus."

For Oh, it was a fifth top-six finish in the past six editions of the Vic Open, although she was yet to convert any of them into a win.

Playing in the final group alongside overnight leader Kim Kaufman and Boutier, the 22-year-old Oh began sluggishly before threatening to make a move in the closing holes.

The key moment came when her chip for eagle on the 15th grazed the pin but stayed out.

"I hit a good chip, but Celine hit a great putt, so I think that was sort of the deal," she said.

"Even on 16, I hit a good putt and it just didn't go in."

Scotland's David Law hit the greatest shot of his golfing career to claim a dramatic one-shot Vic Open triumph on Sunday over Australian duo Wade Ormsby and Brad Kennedy.

Playing in the second last men's group at 13th Beach, Law knew he needed to eagle the par-5 final hole to get into contention.

He stepped up superbly, smashing an approach shot with his hybrid to within eight feet and calmly draining the eagle putt.

"We just knew on 18 that we were in the hunt," said the 27-year-old Law, playing on the main European Tour for the first time in 2019 after five seasons slogging away on the secondary Challenge Tour.

"Until then, it was just about trying to get into position for a top-three or a top-two finish.

"Then standing on the 18th fairway, we knew that if you make an eagle, you put a bit of pressure on.

"I hit a great shot in and it was a nice putt, eight feet down the hill and pretty straight."

Overnight leader Ormsby still looked the likely winner until he made a mess of the par-3 17th hole, missing the green to the left and taking two chips before walking away with a double-bogey.

Law finished on 18-under-par 270 after carding a final round of six-under 66, despite calling a one-shot penalty on himself when his ball moved as he was about to address it at the 9th hole.

"To be a winner in my first year on tour is just unbelievable," he said.

"It will take a long, long time for this to sink in but I'm going to enjoy every minute.

"I've probably only felt comfortable in my own game in the last season or so.

"Out there today, I felt in control of my emotions and my game."

Ormsby was left to rue his costly meltdown on the 17th after he signed for a 70.

"I've got to try and take the positives from it," said the 38-year-old South Australian.

"I'm disappointed for sure, but what can I say?

"It would have been nice to win on home soil."

Had Ormsby been able to match Law's eagle on the final hole, he would have forced a playoff, but he could only manage a birdie.

Fellow Australian Kennedy (67) tied for second alongside Ormsby on 17-under 271 in the $1.5 million tournament, with South African Justin Harding a shot further back in outright fourth.

Adam Scott says three rounds of golf with surfing icon Kelly Slater have inspired him to lift his game on the US PGA Tour this season.

Scott played in the same group as 11-time world champion Slater during the first three days of the celebrity-laden Pebble Beach Pro Am in California.

The former world No.1 bogeyed the 18th at Pebble Beach to sign for a one-under-par 71 and his two-under total means he fails to advance to the final round by one shot.

He finished a distant 13 shots behind 54-hole leader Paul Casey at 15 under.

But as 38-year-old Scott continues his climb back up golf's world rankings following a lean 2018, he says he learned some lessons from Slater about longevity.

Slater owns the record for the youngest (20) and oldest surfer to win a world title, last claiming it as a 39-year-old in 2011.

"His record speaks for itself; the greatest in every sport does things no-one else can," Scott told AAP.

"There are phenomenal athletes and I compared (Slater) to Tiger (Woods) in our sport for a while.

"There is a competitive drive inside and they refuse to let age hold them back."

Searching for his second major title to go with his historic 2013 Masters victory, Scott said Slater inspired him to take more risks when in contention this year.

"It's just a reminder, even to play golf, to win tournaments, you have to enjoy the uncomfortable spots," Scott, whose winless drought stretches back to March 2016, said.

"You can't play it safe all the time and expect to perform at Kelly's level or even the levels I performed at in golf."

Slater, a single-figure handicap golfer, said he equally enjoyed playing a PGA Tour event alongside 13-time winner Scott.

"It's great for us to play with the pros. We've all looked up to Adam for a long time. To get to see them compete up close is pretty special," Slater said.

"Adam has the most beautiful swing in golf. His errant shots are still within reason."

Jason Day insists it won't take a miracle to reel in 54-hole leader Paul Casey with wild weather forecast to continue for the final round of the Pebble Beach Pro Am.

Day fell six shots behind Casey during Saturday's third round as heavy rain and strong winds lashed California's Monterey Peninsula.

Playing alongside two amateurs per the event's format, Day's round took six hours with his group taking 45 minutes to complete the par-5 second while officials swept pools of water off the green.

Despite the conditions, former world No.1 Day failed to capitalise on superb ball-striking.

He found 10 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation but missed several short birdie putts to post an even-par 72 and a nine under total.

England veteran Casey shot an impressive 67 at the difficult Spyglass Hill course to climb to 15-under the card, earning a three-shot lead over Phil Mickelson (70).

Former US Open winner Lucas Glover (70) and fellow American Scott Piercy (69) share third at 11 under.

With heavy rain and winds up to 25km/h predicted for Sunday, Day says he's still a good chance to steal victory.

"I don't have to do anything crazy tomorrow to win the tournament, I would say," Day said.

He is also inspired by an impressive record at the event, posting five top-six results from nine previous appearances.

Helping his quest is the fact Casey is not a prolific frontrunner, winning just one PGA Tour event from the four times he has held a 54-hole lead.

"Conditions are going to be tough," Day said.

"I know I can get out early and post a number, something that's significantly in the 60s, and put a little bit of pressure on those guys."

Searching for his fifth PGA Tour victory at Pebble Beach, Mickelson welcomed the brutal forecast.

"I don't mind if it gets really rough ... to have my best chance, the weather would have to come in," he said.

Curtis Luck (73) was next best of the Australians at five under, while countrymen Cameron Davis (72) and Matt Jones made the three- under cut on the number.

Adam Scott bogeyed the 18th for a 71, finishing at two under alongside John Senden (69).

Given they finished between 60th and 71st, Scott and Senden made the event's 54-hole cut but not the final round.

Ryan Ruffels (one under) Aaron Baddeley (one over) and Rod Pampling (nine over) all missed the cut.

Dawn patroller Matt Stieger has tamed the wind to storm all the way through the field in the third round of the men's Vic Open at 13th Beach.

Stieger, who was beaten in a playoff by fellow Australian Matthew Griffin in the 2014 Vic Open, teed off in the first group at 0640 (AEDT) on Saturday and carded the day's lowest round of seven-under 65.

Remarkably he will now be playing in the final group on Sunday alongside outright leader Wade Orsmby.

South Australian Orsmby shot a two-under 70 to be at 15-under 201, two shots clear of Stieger and Englishman Callum Shinkwin.

The 27-year-old Steiger cut his teeth at the coastal Sydney club of St Michaels and was largely unfazed by the wind which whipped around 13th Beach throughout the third round.

"I've played a lot of golf in the wind so I actually like these types of conditions," said Stieger, the 2011 Australian Amateur champ.

"The first day it didn't blow at all and I shot one-under.

"Then yesterday it blew in the afternoon, I shot five-under and then it blew this morning and I shot seven-under.

"So it's getting better and better, which is good.

"I'm just hoping for another day like this tomorrow; that would be great."

Shinkwin was another early starter to make a big move on Saturday with a 66.

South African Justin Harding (66), Scotsman David Law (71) and Australian Brad Kennedy (72) were tied for fourth at 12-under 204.

Harding was one of the most improved players in the world last year, winning four tournaments to slash his global ranking from the 700s all the way to 73.

The wind got even stronger on Saturday afternoon, making low scoring much more difficult.

Overnight co-leaders Jason Scrivener and Nick Flanagan both had more than their fair share of troubles, carding a pair of 76s to tumble down the leaderboard to a tie for 10th.

But the man they will all be chasing is Ormsby, who bounced back brilliantly after a double-bogey seven at the 2nd hole.

"After that I fought hard all day, no bogeys and got it back under par which is nice," he said.

"I just knew I had to keep fighting.

"I knew my game was in pretty good nick and it was going to be a tough day.

"I made quite a few good saves and made birdies where I had to."

The $A1.5 million men's Vic Open is co-sanctioned by the European Tour.

American Kim Kaufman played two remarkable shots on an extraordinarily tough day as she claimed a two-stroke lead with one round to play at the women's Vic Open.

The strong winds howling around 13th Beach on Saturday reminded Kaufman of her college days in west Texas.

She was able to deal with the conditions better than most, shooting a three-over 75 to be at 10-under 207, two shots clear of Australian Su Oh (74) and Frenchwoman Celine Boutier (69).

The only thing that prevented Kaufman's remarkable approach shot into the teeth of the wind on the 13th from being the shot of the day was her slam dunk out of a bunker for birdie on the fiendishly difficult 104m par-3 7th.

"It was so windy in that bunker," said Kaufman.

"My club wasn't even set but I stood there too long and thought 'I've just got to hit this' and as soon as I did I thought 'it's gone way too far'.

"I just jarred it.

"I can say (I've never holed a bunker shot) like that before but it was a great time to do it.

"That round was six hours of getting beat up by the wind."

Japan's Haru Nomura, the 2016 Australian Open winner, was in outright fourth at 210.

Oh and Katherine Kirk, who carded a 73 to be in a four-way tie for fifth at 213, were the only Australians in the top 25 with one round to play.

Seven-time major champion Karrie Webb had a tough day, dropping five shots in the last six holes to sign for a 10-over 82 which saw her miss the round-three cut.

Fellow Australian Minjee Lee's title defence also ended on Saturday.

The world No.7 had a two-over 74 to be at two-over 218 in the event which is being co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour for the first time in 2019.

Curtis Luck says a dose of perspective at the beginning of the year has eased the pressure of his first full season playing on the US PGA Tour.

Luck secured a promotion last year through the secondary Web.com Tour finals but found his first handful of events difficult, missing four cuts from six events.

But the laid-back Perth 22-year-old has found himself well in the mix through two rounds at California's Pebble Beach Pro Am.

Luck sits six-under-par and four shots off the lead, having posted a hot second round 67 at the difficult Spyglass Hill course.

Luck finished his round on Friday before US PGA Tour officials suspended play with heavy rain lashing California's Monterey Peninsula.

"I made it really easy on myself today; I hit a lot of good shots off the tee, solid iron shots and although I could have putted better, I've set myself up for the weekend," Luck said.

Multiple major winners Phil Mickelson (68) and Jordan Spieth headline a five-way tie for the lead at 10-under-par that includes England veteran Paul Casey (64), Lucas Glover (66) and Scott Langley (69).

Spieth (through 16 holes) and Australia's Jason Day (15 holes), who is one shot back, were among those who will have to finish rounds at 7.10am on Saturday and play the third round immediately after.

Luck is a former world No.1 amateur who won the elite US Amateur and the professional Western Australian Open.

He is now part of the cut-throat Web.com Tour graduate reshuffle - a pool of players who receive PGA Tour starts on a performance-based ranking.

On the PGA Tour, the top 125 players on the season-long FedEx Cup points tally, retain their playing privileges for the following season.

But Luck said a return to Australia over Christmas helped him forget about keeping his PGA Tour card, instead focusing on improving each season.

"It was just a patch. I had a bit of time to think when I went back to Australia over Christmas," Luck said.

"I probably got caught up in thinking the pressure was on in the top 125 at the end of the season to keep my PGA Tour card.

"But I realised that was completely the wrong attitude."

Jason Day has vowed not to let the weather gods rain on his parade at the Pebble Beach Pro Am despite heavy showers stalling his electric day two charge up the leaderboard.

The former world No.1 had rattled off three straight birdies at Spyglass Hill when US PGA Tour officials suspended play on Friday.

Multiple major winners Phil Mickelson (68) and Jordan Spieth headline a five-way tie for the lead at 10-under-par that includes England veteran Paul Casey (64), Lucas Glover (66) and Scott Langley (69).

Spieth (through 16 holes) and Day were among those who will have to finish rounds at 7.10am on Saturday and play the third round immediately after.

Day fought back from a sloppy front nine, during which he dropped a shot, before getting one back at the 11th and rattling off three consecutive birdies from the par-4 13th.

The Queenslander said the timing was frustrating but refused to let it stand in his way when he continues with a 25-foot par putt on the 16th on Saturday.

"It is disappointing as I was really on a roll there, hitting some nice approach shots and holing putts," Day told AAP.

"But it is what it is; the weather can often be like this in northern California this time of year and if you want to win at Pebble Beach it is something you have to push through."

Five-time major winner Mickelson held a two-shot lead during his round but crumbled with three bogeys in his last four holes.

However a closing birdie kept him tied at the top of the leaderboard as he chases a fifth win at the Pebble Beach Pro Am.

"I'm lucky to finish the round because some guys (were) still out there playing in some tough stuff," Mickelson said.

Curtis Luck was next best Australian having teed off early and posted a hot round of 67 to climb to a six-under total.

Cameron Davis (four under), Matt Jones (71, two under), Aaron Baddeley (incomplete, two under), Adam Scott (72, one under), Ryan Ruffels (71, one under), John Senden (72, even par) and Rod Pampling (77, five over) round out the Australian contingent.