– Thomas Detry (-9) is the leader of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the second Signature Event of the PGA Tour season, after the first day. The Belgian has signed a 63 at Spyglass Hill and leads by one stroke over Patrick Cantlay (-8), who played on the same course. The Belgian is already approaching two hundred tournaments played in the two main circuits of the world (152 he played in the DP World Tour and 44 he has in the PGA Tour) and he has not yet achieved a victory, which continues to cause surprise if one sees him play. His swing is a delight. But that little head still has to finish arming itself…
– And Matthieu Pavon (-7), last week’s winner at Torrey Pines, is third after this first round and his 65-stroke card has been the best result at Pebble Beach. Last week, in San Diego, both were already up at the first change, although only the Frenchman would hold on until the end. Today, against the crème de la crème of world golf (nine of the top ten in the world and 23 of the top 25 are here) is something even more serious. Let’s see who brings down the Frenchman from the wonderful cloud he’s riding on, from which he continues to show a very orderly, very intelligent game, and a killer putt. The crème de la crème, today, is him. And Detry. The expression fits these two Francophones like a glove.
– In case there was any doubt about how he had taken the historic success of a few days ago, Pavon started his round at Pebble with birdies on holes 1 and 2. And he finished with four more birdies over the last five holes of the legendary Californian course, which has played longer than usual, as the balls practically stayed in the pique when they landed on the street, so wet it is. The Frenchman cares little or nothing about the conditions, he is simply one of the most in-form players on the planet and there is nothing more to say. However, we will have to see if the week does not become too long for him, but right now there is no choice but to bet on him. In addition, the playing conditions of this first day, with some wind and a little water, have been the best that everyone is going to find this week, so it never hurts to already have a good safety cushion and a considerable advantage over the majority.
– The first skirmish in the great battle for the world’s Number One between Scottie Scheffler (-3) and Rory McIlroy (-1) was clearly being won by the Northern Irishman, who was six under at Spyglass with four holes to go, but Rory entered one of those strange loops that he frequents from time to time and finished with two bogeys on holes 6 and 8 (he finished on 9) and a triple bogey on 7, where he took a two-stroke penalty for incorrectly dropping a ball. A textbook walk through Rorylandia, that fantasy kingdom where anything can happen, although most of the time they are good and exciting things.
– Anyway, at the first change Rory has greatly complicated the objective of the assault on the throne, as the worst result he could afford to achieve it was a third place, tied with two players. Scheffler, for his part, also does not finish breaking, exploding, very much in line with what has already been seen in 2024. It is as if the absence of his great rival, Jon Rahm, had plunged him into a state of serene melancholy…
– As for Nick Dunlap (+4), undoubtedly one of the great attractions of the week after his victory as an amateur in the American Express, let’s say that his debut as a professional with a round of 76 strokes at Pebble Beach is not too scandalous either. The young man from Alabama, who has not been bad at all from the tee, has shown very grey with the irons in his hand and has paid very dearly for almost every mistake, among other things because his putt has not helped him either. Right now he closes the classification, but he has 54 holes ahead to recover as much as he can. Quite a challenge.
