McIlroy begins Pebble Beach defence with rollercoaster 68
by Gavin Cooney · The42LAST UPDATE | 10 hrs ago
RORY MCILROY MIXED six birdies and an eagle with two, three-putt double bogeys as he kicked off his defence of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in rollercoaster fashion.
McIlroy signed for an up-and-down, four-under 68, six shots off leader, Ryo Hisatsune.
Shane Lowry finished a shot better off than McIlroy, carding a five-under 67.
The Pro-Am is a signature event on the PGA Tour, and marks McIlroy and Lowry’s first American event of 2026. Players play a round at Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach across Thursday and Friday, before all return to Pebble Beach for the weekend.
Playing at Spyglass Hill, McIlroy made a fast start, going out in 31 thanks to a trio of birdies and a chip-in eagle on the par-five 14th.
Having teed off on the 10th, McIlroy made another birdie on the second hole after the turn before handing back two shots on the third hole with a three-putt from eight feet. A birdie on the next hole preceded the same sin on the fifth hole, this time three-putting from inside six feet. He closed with a birdie on his final hole.
Lowry’s was an altogether steadier day at Pebble Beach, with bogeys on holes nine and 10 the only true blemishes of his round, almost holing out on the par-three 17th, leaving his tee shot just eight inches from the hole.
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Meanwhile, Hisatsune fired a career-best 10-under par 62 to take a one-stroke first-round lead after McIlroy and top-ranked Scottie Scheffler left themselves work to do.
Hisatsune nabbed 10 birdies without a bogey in ideal conditions on Pebble Beach Golf Links, one of two courses in use over the first two rounds.
He was one stroke in front of Sam Burns – who carded seven of his nine birdies on the back nine in a nine-under 63 at Pebble Beach – and Keegan Bradley, who had an eagle and seven birdies at Spyglass Hill.
The 23-year-old from Okayama, who won the 2023 Open de France on the DP World Tour, has been stepping it up in pursuit of a first US PGA Tour title.
After a tie for second behind runaway winner Justin Rose at Torrey Pines, Hisatsune held the halfway lead at the Phoenix Open last week and played in the final group on Sunday on the way to a share of 10th.
He said the past two weeks had boosted his confidence in his putter, and it certainly showed as he needed just 22 putts, gaining more than five strokes on the field on the greens.
“(I’m) feeling much more comfortable playing these greens,” said Hisatsune, who followed his four-foot birdie putt at the second with a 29-footer at the third and a 39-footer at the fourth.
After birdies at the sixth, seventh, ninth and 11th, he capped his round with three straight birdies.
Chris Gotterup, who has soared to fifth in the world with wins at the Sony Open and in Phoenix, headed a group on eight-under par, launching his round with six straight birdies and following his lone bogey of the day with three more.
“I was just kind of coasting along,” Gotterup said of his hot start. “You don’t really realise it in the moment, and then when you look up you’re like, wow, I’m six-under through six – that’s nice.”
The streak followed three closing birdies on the way to a play-off win over Hideki Matsuyama in Phoenix on Sunday.
“I guess nine in a row would be my streak,” he said. “Nine’s pretty good.”
He was joined on 64 by Tony Finau and Patrick Rodgers, with another four players sharing seventh on 65.
Meanwhile, Scheffler was at even par after an erratic round that included three birdies and three bogeys.
The American hit nine of 14 fairways in regulation and 11 of 18 greens, getting himself back to even par with a birdie at the par-five 18th, where he got up and down from a greenside bunker.
“I feel like typically I’m good at scoring, and today I felt like I didn’t score at all,” Scheffler said. “I actually feel like I’m playing pretty well, just one of those days.”
Additional reporting by AFP