PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – The 76th edition of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am lost some of its star power to a conflicting tournament in the Middle East.
Then defending champion and world No. 16 Daniel Berger withdrew late Wednesday with a bad back.
But one name popped from the leaderboard in Thursday’s first round.
And it’s a name that should be remembered. Power, Seamus Power.
On a bright, calm day by the sea, the Irishman with the dynamic surname, who was ranked 438th in the world last April and facing the prospect of losing his playing status on the PGA Tour, continued his fine form with a bogey-free, 8-under-par 64 at Spyglass, which included four consecutive birdies to finish the round.
“I know this place always plays the hardest,” Power said. “I’ve always really enjoyed playing Spyglass, it kind of suits my eye and game feels in good shape so I was like, why not? I hit a horrible tee shot on the par-3 5th, had a very good up-and-down to kind of stay at 4 (under) and then just kind of clicked coming in, really, made a couple of very nice putts and a couple of very nice shots.”
Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Leaderboard
Power trails only Tom Hoge, who finished runner-up two weeks ago in the American Express and grabbed the first-round lead with a bogey-free, 9-under-par 63 at Pebble Beach. Hoge, who made six consecutive birdies on his incoming nine, is another player on the rise; he has risen from 114th in the world rankings to 68th since the start of the season.
“It’s hard to be in a bad mood out here,” said Hoge, who is looking for his first PGA Tour title. “I mean, Pebble Beach and perfect weather is about as good as it gets. So it was a lot of fun. I feel like I’ve been playing well. I’ve been excited to get out here on the golf course and feel like Pebble Beach is a golf course that suits me well, so I was excited to get out here this week.
“I made some putts. I switched putters this week (after missing the cut in the Famers Insurance Open). To see one go in right off the bat today on the first hole was huge for me. I felt like I made a lot of good putts out there today, but I felt like I was very close last week, just a very hard golf course (the South at Torrey Pines) out there. I drove it in the rough a few too many times and just didn’t make enough putts. But the margins are so small between missing a cut and being in contention, so you just try to keep a positive attitude and just keep plugging away.”
Jonas Blixt, who won Tour titles in 2012 and 2013 but has fallen to No. 1,219 in the world rankings, shot 7-under-par 64 on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula. Rookie Austin Smotherman, who tied for 11th last week in the Farmers Insurance Open, made two eagles and shot 65 at Pebble Beach.
The biggest name on the first page of the leaderboard was Patrick Cantlay, the reigning FedEx Cup champion and PGA Tour player of the year. The highest-ranked player in the field at No. 4, who has two wins and two other top-10s in his most recent four starts, birdied his last three holes to shoot 65 on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula.
“I started off strong and had a weird middle of the round, definitely gave a few away. And then closed really strong. So finishing with three in a row on this golf course is a really nice finish and I’m happy with my start for the week,” he said. “I really like it up here. It’s just so beautiful. And when we get a week like this with good weather it’s the best.”
Also at 65 at Monterey Peninsula was Andrew Putnam.
“I mean this course is incredible. I feel like you could sleep on the fairways, they’re like just perfect,” Putnam said.
Former world No. 1 Jason Day, who has eight top-7 finishes without a victory in the tournament, shot 68 at Pebble.
Jordan Spieth, the three-time major winner who won this event in 2017, shot 68 at Monterey Peninsula.
Power’s emergence began when he strung together five consecutive top-20 finishes beginning last May, then won the Barbasol Championship in July. In his last seven starts on the PGA Tour, he has six top-15 results, including three in as many starts this year. He is now ranked 50th in the world.
“It’s always funny with the three courses,” he said. “Obviously it’s great to have a good start but you’re on to a completely different challenge. (Friday) I’m playing Pebble at 8:40 and it’s going to be a completely different course to today.
“So kind of makes it easier to reset and so hopefully we can kind of keep doing the same thing tomorrow.”
