Damp start to Pebble Beach pro-am

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
PEBBLE BEACH, California– Notes and observations from Thursday’s abbreviated opening round of the AT and T Pebble Beach Pro Am, where just 73 of the 156 pros who teed off finished their rounds.
Three players lead at 4 under, with the resumption of play set for 10:30 a.m. ET on Friday. For more Round 1 coverage, click here for the Daily Wrap-up.

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LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

You wanted to be playing Spyglass Hill on Thursday. And you wanted an early tee time.
Statistically the toughest of the three courses in the tournament rotation, Spyglass Hill offered the most protection from the wind and rain that battered players in the early afternoon before play was called. The course is not as exposed to the coast and to the conditions as Pebble Beach and Monterey Peninsula, so it’s no surprise that all three leaders shot their 68s at Spyglass.
“We might have caught a break today, being up here in the trees,” said TOUR rookie Joel Dahmen, one of those leaders along with fellow rookie Rick Lamb and Seung-Yul Noh.
The field average at Spyglass Hill was 1.236 strokes over par. Monterey Peninsula, normally the easiest of the three courses, was 1.484 strokes over par. Pebble Beach played to 2.463 strokes over par. “Glad I’m not out at Pebble,” Lamb said.
Teeing off early also helped. Not only were the earliest risers able to finish their rounds, but their time spent in the bad conditions was also minimal. Lamb and Noh, for instance, were in the first group off at Spyglass. Dahmen was 33 minutes behind them.
“At first I didn’t think it was great I had to wake up at 4:15 today, so we were a little groggy this morning,” Lamb said. “But by the time we got going, it was good. I think we teed off before the sun actually rose.”
World No. 1 Jason Day, who shot a 2-under 69 at Monterey Peninsula, knows Spyglass Hill was the place to be Thursday.
“Sometimes you can get lucky with the draw, especially where you’re playing,” he said. “I think if you were playing at Spyglass today, it definitely helped a little bit, especially with some of the cover in the trees. But you’ve just got to take what you can get and try and win the tournament at the end of the week.”

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HAPPY MEMORIES

Two years ago, Mark Hubbard proposed to his longtime girlfriend Meghan McCurley on the 18th green after his first round at the AT and T Pebble Beach. She said yes, and they were married in July.
As Hubbard was walking up the 18th fairway Thursday on his way to finishing a 3-under 69 that leaves him tied for fourth, he wondered what would have happened had the weather been as poor back then as it was today.
“Would I still have done it? I don’t know,” Hubbard joked. “I think it would have been hard to hear anything I had to say over the wind until we got inside to the lodge.”

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THE FOOTPRINT EFFECT

Four players to a group. Rainy conditions. Poa annua greens. No wonder players had to navigate through some footprints on their putting lines.
“I’ve played here enough,” said Sam Saunders. “… The footprints just stay. They’re great putting surfaces; they just get a little bit worn out with all the traffic.
“Today was just a test of patience. You’ve got to hit fairways and try to hit greens and just know that you’re going to hit some good putts that may wiggle out. But every now and then, you may get one to bounce in for you.”
Saunders stayed patient Thursday and was rewarded with a 2-under 69 at Monterey Peninsula. It’s his second round in the 60s in 10 rounds on TOUR this season. Saunders also played the Web.com Tour event in the Bahamas last month that suffered ridiculous weather. He finished tied for eighth. He said the Bahamas event prepared him for Thursday’s conditions.
“I love playing in tough conditions,” he said. “I like to play ugly golf. It’s kind of my thing.”

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