The lengthy slog that’s the first three days of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am bought off to a sizzling begin on Thursday as 4 golfers shot 7 below or higher and rocketed to the highest of the leaderboard. Though no huge names or megastars have emerged but, a board has began to take form at Pebble Beach, Monterey Peninsula and Spyglass Hill.
Hank Lebioda leads after taking pictures 8-under 63, however he is tailed intently by Kurt Kitayama, Chad Ramey and Harry Hall, all of whom shot 7 below on varied golf programs. Martin Trainer, Eric Cole and Aaron Baddeley make up a group that shot 6 below and are a bit additional again.
Let’s take a deeper have a look at Lebioda’s huge first day and what’s in retailer for him and the remainder of the sector over the remainder of the week.
The leader
1. Hank Lebioda (-8)
Lebioda shot 63 at Monterey Peninsula on Thursday, which was taking part in as the best of the three programs used over the primary three rounds. It was seemingly that the first-round leader would come from this course, however that does not diminish what Lebioda did Thursday. He birdied half the holes he performed, went out in 3 below and got here residence in 5 below for the 63 (Monterey Peninsula, apparently, performs as a par 34 on the entrance and par 37 on the again). It was the most effective rating he is shot all season and simply the second spherical he is shot in the 60s in six tournaments.
“Felt like everything [was going right], to be honest with you,” Lebioda mentioned. “Hit a lot of great iron shots. I made the putts when I was close. It was just a nice day. It was a really nice day.”
Lebioda profitable this week can be stunning. He hasn’t made a lower thus far this 12 months and has solely cracked 70 one time. Now to exit and do it in opposition to a few of the greatest gamers in the world at a place like Pebble? The up to date odds recommend that others are as skeptical as I’m, however it will be fairly a story of Lebioda might grasp on.
Other contenders
T2. Kurt Kitayama, Chad Ramey, Harry Hall (-7)
T5. Martin Trainer, Eric Cole, Aaron Baddeley (-6)
T8. Scott Stallings, Ben Martin, Kyle Westmoreland, Keith Mitchell, Harry Higgs (-5)
The good news for Lebioda is that the gamers behind him usually are not all that sturdy. Stallings could possibly be a downside — he performed some actually terrific golf at occasions in 2022 — however past that there is not a ton to be petrified of right here.
Where are the celebrities?
That begs the query of the place Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland are after 18 holes. Hovland led the group by taking pictures 2 below at Spyglass Hill. Spieth and Fitzpatrick shot 1 below on the identical golf course (extra in a minute on why that is higher than it appears).
“Spyglass is hard, it’s a tough test,” Spieth mentioned. “Would have liked to have done better on my front nine. That was really gettable. Then I thought I played the back nine really well. It was really bizarre the last four holes or so with the wind. It went from nothing to flipping and then blowing about 25 out of nowhere the other direction than the forecast. That throws us through a big loop when you’re prepping for something and you’ve got to make the adjustment.”
“I know one thing, Monterey’s typically the lowest scoring average and I.ve got to try and get back into it tomorrow,” he added in a while.
Course scores
Here are the three scoring averages throughout the golf programs on Thursday.
- Monterey Peninsula: 69.8
- Pebble Beach: 71.0
- Spyglass Hill: 72.7
To Spieth’s level, taking pictures 71 at Spyglass is sort of tantamount to taking pictures 69 at Pebble Beach. The scoring averages matter maybe extra at this event than at another occasion on the PGA Tour. As the Hovland-Spieth-Fitzpatrick trio heads to Monterey on Friday, the place the scoring common was practically three strokes simpler in Round 1, it is one thing that is value keeping track of.
2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am up to date odds and picks
Odds by way of Caesars Sportsbook
- Keith Mitchell: 15/2
- VIktor Hovland: 10-1
- Kurt Kitayama: 11-1
- Matt Fitzpatrick: 16-1
- Jordan Spieth: 16-1
- Harry Hall: 18-1
We can go forward and cease proper there. The names I like are Fitzpatrick and Spieth at 16-1. They’re just one again of Hovland after taking part in the identical course, which to me doesn’t add as much as the distinction that is represented on the betting board right here. Spieth is such a menace at this event, and he will get his favourite course — Pebble Beach — for the ultimate 36 holes. If he shoots 66 or 67 on Friday at Monterey, it may be off to the races on the weekend.
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