Taylor takes lead after first round at Pebble
♦ Good weather plays to the golfers’ advantage at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am.
Nick Taylor opened with an eagle, closed with two birdies and made a gorgeous day feel even better with an 8-under 63 at Monterey Peninsula that gave him the lead Thursday in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am.
Most of the interest over three courses in the rotation was at Spyglass Hill, which featured Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, along with five NFL quarterbacks that included Peyton Manning and his recently retired brother, Eli.
The iconic scenery is at Pebble Beach, especially when the surf turns a turquoise hue under so much sunshine.
Taylor went about his business quietly, and most effectively.
Starting on the back nine at Monterey Peninsula, with a chilly breeze at his back, he hit 4-iron to a back pin that settled 4 feet away for an eagle, ht 3-iron out of the rough for a two-putt birdie on the par-5 16th and knew he was playing well when he hit 4-iron to 10 feet on the first hole, a 495-yard par 4 that feels even longer when the air is cold at sea level.
Better still was the finish — a 5-iron back toward the ocean to 5 feet, and then a wind-aided 3-iron from 240 yards on a back tee he had never seen to 20 feet.
“A nice start,” Taylor said, referring to his 4-iron that set up eagle and the 63 that matched his low round on the tour. “The weather helps out. If it’s raining, it’s windy, five-and-a-half hours is a long round. But we were very relaxed today, joked all day, and I felt like the mood was great.”
He led by two shots to par over Patrick Cantlay (Spyglass) and Chase Seiffert (Pebble Beach), who each had a 6-under 66.
Defending champion Phil Mickelson, whose third-place finish in Saudi Arabia last week was his best result in a year, was slightly disappointed with his 68 at Spyglass because of how well he felt he hit it off the tee.
“I drove it like a stallion,” said Mickelson, a phrase he once used in describing his play at the $9 million pay-perview match he won against Tiger Woods in Las Vegas.
Cantlay made nine birdies at Spyglass and wasn’t even the best putter in his group. Some of his best views of this stunning day along the rugged coastline was watching champion surfer Kelly Slater on the greens, not in the pipe.
“He looked like the best putter on tour today,” Cantlay said of his amateur partner.
Cantlay, who tried surfing one time as a teenager and
wisely gave it up, showed why golf has worked out OK for him. Despite two soft bogeys early in his round and a bogey on the par-5 14th from mud on his ball, he was among the leaders and feeling comfortable with all aspects of his game.
The two bogeys early came from a chip just behind the green at No. 2 that rolled out some 6 feet by the pin, and a birdie chance that turned into bogey with a three-putt from 18 feet on the skinny green at the picturesque fourth.
The rest of it was solid, and the number of birdies was encouraging.
Cantlay loves the Monterey Peninsula so much he could retire here, and he had even more reason to love it Thursday. His group was first off in the morning, giving them an entire front nine of fresh greens.
“Course was probably the best shape I’ve ever seen it and we’re getting perfect weather,” he said. “So yeah, it’s great.”