– The AT&T Pebble Beach has started strong. The weather is cold, as always at this time of year in this part of California, but the leaderboard is hot. A top 20 with Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Viktor Hovland, Justin Rose, Tony Finau, Sahith Theegala, Rasmus Hojgaard or Sepp Straka is no small feat.
– The leader is Russell Henley (-8). He may not be the most high-profile or charismatic player on the PGA Tour, but he stepped up in his career some time ago and should be taken very seriously. So much so that if he wins a Major one day, we shouldn’t be surprised. Consider yourselves warned. He hasn’t missed a cut since last year’s THE PLAYERS, so we’re approaching a year. During this time, he has played 15 tournaments and, although he hasn’t won, he has achieved six top 10s. He shot 64 at Spyglass Hill and is in the lead alone.
– Rory McIlroy (-6) has started like a rocket, also at Spyglass. The playing conditions, by the way, were very good. It was cold, but the wind barely made an appearance and the humidity helped keep the greens from being too hard. Rory made a hole-in-one on the 15th at Spyglass. It’s the second of his career on the PGA Tour. He can’t be called a specialist. He has played 910 rounds of golf on the American circuit. In any case, he is up there and has put himself in contention for the title. As almost always. He finished his round with a textbook birdie on the 9th hole at Spyglass.
– Scottie Scheffler (-5) is already well positioned, as he likes, starting slow and building up in tournaments. Warming up. It was his first competitive round in 2025 since he had the hand accident while cooking ravioli. It must be said that it took him three holes to get going. He started with a bogey on the 10th at Spyglass, playing the hole very poorly, missing the fairway, hitting the second shot into the bunker and failing to recover. He also missed the fairway on the 11th and made par, and on the 12th, a par 3, he missed the green. Another par. From there, the Scheffler clock was back in action. A six-under stretch to the end, sinking some good putts, but leaving two or three very clear opportunities along the way. From his fourth hole, he hit every green. That is, he putted for birdie every time. He’s there. And everyone knows it.
– Viktor Hovland (-7) reiterated in the pre-tournament at Pebble Beach the same thing he said in Dubai. That he’s not playing well and is struggling to regain his form. It didn’t seem that way at Pebble Beach. A round of 65, one shot off the leader. It’s hard to see him with the consistency needed to win the tournament, but the Norwegian has already shown that in a bad year like 2024, he was close to winning the PGA. Not to be underestimated.
– Speaking of Europe and the Ryder Cup. Serious messages from some players. A statement of intent. It’s true that it’s only the first round, but we’re at a designated event, with the best in the world, and what happens in these types of tournaments counts more. There are Justin Rose (-7), Sepp Straka (-7), and Rasmus Hojgaard (-7). Three who want to be at Bethpage at all costs. Rose’s performance is excellent news for Luke Donald. No one needs to explain how valuable a player like Rose would be in the next Ryder. And if he’s there, it will be because he’s playing well. You can’t ask for much more.
– Other players to watch this week: Justin Thomas (-6), who continues to send good signals, or Patrick Cantlay (-6), who is still awaited in this long journey through the desert he’s been on for some time.
– Shane Lowry (-6) made a hole-in-one that greatly helped him to be high up on the leaderboard. He did it on an iconic hole, the 7th at Pebble Beach, and celebrated it as hole-in-ones should be celebrated. By the way, the Irishman has quite the knack for making hole-in-ones. He’s made three on the PGA Tour. Today’s at Pebble Beach adds to another on the 16th at Augusta and one more on the 17th at Sawgrass. If you’re going to do it, do it right.
– On the downside, the poor starts of Ludvig Aberg (+5), who is at the bottom of the leaderboard after his poor finish at the Farmers, where he led after the first round, Wyndham Clark (+2), the defending champion, Adam Scott (+2), Cameron Young (+1), or Matthew Fitzpatrick (+1) stand out.
– By the way, the pace of play wasn’t terrible. Five hours for the last groups playing with two professionals and two amateurs is not crazy. Yes, we have Stockholm syndrome with the PGA Tour. Almost anything seems fine to us now, but it’s not enough. Keep in mind that there are only 80 players and that really 40 play at Spyglass and 40 at Pebble Beach. This helps the pace of play.
– It wasn’t the best start to the tournament for Pau Gasol. The Spaniard, teaming up with JT Poston, scored -5, far from the lead at -13. Poston shot three under, and Gasol contributed two under par.
