SUNNY AND CALM
Scoring conditions favorable so far at Pebble Beach Pro-Am
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — The one reason Rory McIlroy could have been slightly annoyed during the opening round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was a side effect of the reason Thursday was so enjoyable.
A shadow.
McIlroy was just starting to take his driver back on the par-5 seventh at Spyglass Hill when he saw the shadow of his father move. With so much sunshine across the Monterey Peninsula, that was inevitable.
“So I backed off it. I said, ‘Fine, stand still.’ Blocked it way right and hit my second in the water,” McIlroy said. “Hard to say anything. Chipped in for birdie, so I was like, ‘You’re forgiven.’”
There wasn’t much not to like on a day like this, especially for Kevin Streelman and Beau Hossler.
Streelman doesn’t even play the most golf on his proam team — his partner is Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, a golf fanatic and a regular at Whisper Rock — but he managed to put together another strong round at Spyglass and keep bogeys off his card for a 7-under-par 65.
He shared the lead in relation to par with Hossler, who added another strong memory from northern California. Hossler, who challenged for the lead as a 17-year-old on the weekend of the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic Club, was bogeyfree at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Hossler birdied the 16th and 17th and had a chance to take the lead on the par-5 18th until enough wind came up to make it a challenge. He sent his tee shot to the right, his second into a fairway bunker, didn’t quite reach the green and had to make an eight-foot putt to save par.
“Just a lot going on there, so I was glad to get out of there with a 5,” Hossler said.
Aaron Wise also had a 65. He was on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula, which plays to a par 71. Also at 6 under were Matt Kuchar and Julian Suri, who were at Spyglass. Suri grew up in Jacksonville, Fla., but has moved up to No. 66 in the world based on his play on the European Tour. This tournament is his third straight sponsor’s exemption on the PGA Tour.
McIlroy, meanwhile, used that unlikely birdie on No. 7 to begin his move that eventually reached 4 under until a scrappy finish for a 68, leaving him three shots behind in his debut in the event.
“A couple of messy holes coming in,” he said. “Made a good bogey on 16. Made a great par on 17. It was nice to finish with a birdie at the last. So all in all, pretty pleased.”
Scoring conditions were so good, 97 out of the 156 players broke par. Former Baylor School standouts Keith Mitchell and Stephan Jaeger were in that group — Mitchell with a 67 at Spyglass that had him tied for sixth; Jaeger with a 68 at Pebble Beach that gave him a share of 16th.
The 2017 tournament’s champion, Jordan Spieth, was not among them. He missed a birdie chance from three feet on the par-5 13th hole, which was frustrating to him because he didn’t have many looks like that. Spieth made one birdie, one bogey and 16 pars. He was at 72 and, after grabbing lunch, was headed out to the practice green for some work.
It might have been more irritating on any other day but this one — not with the scenery, the ambiance at Spyglass and the social nature of this pro-am. Country singer Jake Owen kept it light, stopping on his way to the 16th tee to sing a song when someone handed him a guitar.
Dustin Johnson, a two-time winner of this event and the No. 1 player in the world, had very little stress after he got up and down from the collar of the green at the par-3 fifth hole for bogey at Spyglass. He played with hockey great Wayne Gretzky, who had two birdies.
Johnson was at 67 and looked as though he might just be getting started. If that’s the case, he might have a problem.
The top 25 pro-am teams advance to Sunday, and Gretzky has to be in Edmonton then as the 1984-85 Oilers are celebrated as a fan vote of the greatest NHL team in the last century. The fact that tickets to the gala are going for $99 suggests the Great One probably needs to be there.
“He’s going to play as long as he can,” Johnson said.
Rumford starts well
PERTH, Australia — Brett Rumford opened with 8-under 64 and held a two-stroke lead over James Nitties and Lee Westwood in the World Super 6 Perth.
Rumford led the tournament from start to finish last year, dominating the opening three rounds of stroke play before winning the match-play format in the final round at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
Nine golfers were tied for fourth, three strokes behind Rumford.
The top 24 after three rounds play a series of six-hole shootouts in the event co-sanctioned by three tours: European, Asian and PGA of Australia.