Fog hits Pebble Beach with Spieth tied at top
Fathauer also leads with a hole to play in second round.
Jordan Spieth knew the pin position on the ninth hole at Spyglass Hill as much by memory as by sight, which was a good thing considering the fog creeping across the Monterey Peninsula.
The c rowd behind the green couldn’t see Spieth, only a golf ball that landed behind the flag and spun back 3 feet below the cup. Spieth tapped that in for his eighth birdie of the round and a 7-under 65 that put him atop the leaderboard in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Friday. Spieth was at 10-under 133. Dere k Fa t h au e r was 8 under for his round at Pebble Beach and tied with Spieth at 10 under. Fathauer had to return Saturday morning to finish his round on the ninth hole. The bigger threat might be Jason Day, the world’s No. 1 player, who was 7 under through 12 holes at Spyglass when play was stopped. Day was at 9 under.
Patrick Reed, who withdrew two weeks ago from the European Tour event in Australia next week because of a respiratory infection, was at 7 under and had one hole to play at Monterey Peninsula.
Spieth mainly was thrilled that he finished just before the horn sounded to suspend play again, this time for fog.
It’s hard to know where anyone stands until three rounds are completed, let alone when only 33 out of 154 players were done with the second round. Spieth only knew that his swing was dialed in and his putter — the most dangerous club in his bag — was coming around.
“I didn’t feel any nerves o u t t h e r e , e v e n t h o u g h I knew I was toward the lead, just because so much could happen with three courses,” he said. “The first two rounds, it’s been easy. Tomorrow might feel a little different.”
The sun, rarely seen this week, is supposed to be make an appearance this weekend. Spieth and Day will play Pebble the final two rounds, and it typically is the easiest when the weather is benign.
What helped Spieth was going off in the third group at Spyglass and having what he considers the best greens on the rotation.
He picked up birdies on both par 3s on the back nine, had a two-putt birdie on a par 5 and made the turn in 4 under to take the lead. Then, he started to get hot with the putter. Spieth rolled in a 12-footer on No. 2, a 25-footer on No. 4 and he saved par with a 15-footer after finding a bunker on the par-3 fifth.
Champions: Olin Browne had eight birdies in a nineh o l e s t r e t c h a n d s h o t a 9-under 63 in Boca Raton, Fla., for the first-round lead at the Allianz Championship. Kenny Perry was two strokes back after opening with an eagle on the par-5 first.
Fred Couples eagled the par-5 11th in a 68. He’s playing in Florida for the first time since the 2006 Honda Classic. At age 71, Hale Irwin shot a 68 to better his age for the 19th time on the tour.
Europe/Asia: Bernd Wiesberger put on a clinic with his irons to lead Danny Willett at the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Wiesberger shot a 9-under 63 that included nine consecutive birdies, while Willett shot 67. David Lipsky of the U.S. (67) and Michael Lorenzo-Vera of France (65) were three shots behind.
Nikola Jokic scored a career-high 40 points as Denver handed New York its fourth straight loss. Former Knicks forward Wilson Chandler added 19 points and Jameer Nelson had 16 points and 12 assists for the Nuggets, who shot 56.8 percent from the field.
Reserve James Johnson scored 26 points and Goran Dragic added 21 as Miami extended its winning streak to 13 games — the longest in the NBA. Brooklyn has lost 11 in a row.
Kawhi Leonard scored 32 points as San Antonio never trailed. The Spurs’ Dewayne Dedmon had 17 points and 17 rebounds, reaching season highs in both categories. LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and 11 rebounds.
John Wall led Washington with 26 points and 14 assists, and Markieff Morris also had 26 points for the Wizards, who have won 18 o f their past 19 home games.
Klay Thompson scored 36 points for Golden State and Kevin Durant, warming up for tonight’s return to Oklahoma City, added 24.
Nick Young scored 26 points and reserve Louis Williams added 21 for Los Angeles, which won despite 41 points and six assists by Milwaukee’s. Giannis Antetokounmpo. Anthony Davis had 42 points and 13 rebounds and Jrue Holiday had 25 points and 12 assists for New Orleans. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 36 points for the Timberwolves, Late Late
The NBA suspended center Alex Len for one game without pay for leaving the bench during an on-court altercation in a Wednesday night game against the Grizzlies in Memphis. The NBA also fined three players $15,000 each for their roles in the altercation — Phoenix guard Tyler Ulis and forward Marquese Chriss and Memphis guard Troy Daniels. Len served his suspension during Friday night’s game against the Bulls.