Streelman, Hossler share first-round lead
McIlroy 3 behind in his debut at Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The one time Rory McIlroy could have been slightly annoyed was the very reason the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am 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 Thursday 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 pro-am team — his partner is Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, a golf fanatic and 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 65.
He shared the lead 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 bogey-free at Pebble Beach.
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 8-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.
McIlroy, meanwhile, used that unlikely birdie on No. 7 to eventually finish at 68, leaving him three shots behind in his debut in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
European Tour: Defending champion Brett Rumford shot an 8-under 64 to take a two-stroke lead over Lee Westwood in the World Super 6 Perth in Australia.
Westwood, tied for second after the first round with James Nitties, missed the cut in his first two tournaments of the year before finishing tied for 11th in Malaysia last weekend.
Nine golfers were tied for fourth, three strokes behind Rumford. Thursday’s Games
(At) Flyers 5, Canadiens 3: Travis Konecny scored twice and Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist for Philadelphia. Jakub Voracek and Ivan Provorov also scored, and Shayne Gostisbehere had three assists for the Flyers. Brian Elliott made 25 saves for the Flyers in his second game back from a lower body injury after missing four games. Elliott also got an assist on Provorov’s empty-netter.
(At) Sabres 4, Islanders 3: Sam Reinhart poked in a rebound with 4:14 left and added two assists as Buffalo won after squandering a three-goal lead. Jack Eichel and Evan Rodrigues each had a goal and an assist for Buffalo, and Ryan O’Reilly also scored. John Tavares, Anders Lee and Ross Johnston scored for New York.
Flames 3, (at) Devils 2: Johnny Gaudreau scored the go-ahead goal and set up linemate Sean Monahan’s second of the game to lead Calgary to its third straight win. Backup David Rittich made 30 saves, giving Mike Smith a rare night off and helping the Flames improve to 15-5-5 on the road. Taylor Hall and Pavel Zacha scored for New Jersey. Predators at Senators: Late
Canucks at Lightning: Late
Coyotes at Wild: Late
Avalanche at Blues: Late
Stars at Blackhawks: Late
Golden Knights at Sharks: Late
NHL notes
Rangers: Defenseman Brendan Smith was waived, less than eight months after he was re-signed to a four-year,
$17 million deal. Smith, who turned 29th Thursday, has one goal and seven assists in 44 games this season.
Sabres: Defenseman Jake McCabe will miss three to four weeks after having thumb surgery.
Hurricanes: Forwards Marcus Kruger and Josh Jooris were placed on waivers.