The recent dry weather on the Monterey Peninsula had golfers fearing that firm, fast conditions at the three courses in the rotation at the AT&T National Pro-Am would see them playing like U.S. Open tracks – firm fairways yielding long rolls with tee shots running into the rough, and hard, fast greens shedding approach shots like B-B’s dropped on a dinner plate. On the contrary, what competitors experienced today at Spyglass Hill, Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Shore Course, and Pebble Beach Golf Links were perfect conditions: fairways that ran just enough to get that extra few yards on a well-struck tee shot, and greens that were smooth and, while quick enough to be challenging, were not the lightning-fast billiard-table surfaces encountered under U.S. Open conditions. By the numbers, the Shore Course played just over one stroke under par, Pebble Beach just less than one stroke under par, and Spyglass Hill – acknowledged to be the tougher of the three courses – about 3/4’s of a stroke under par.
Best of all, the ideal course conditions were played under clear, blue skies, in perfect temperatures with just a hint of breeze. Besides being a dream come true for spectators and TV producers alike, the ideal weather conditions led to a run of low scores across all three courses, and one record-setting streak at Pebble Beach by an unlikely journeyman pro.
Low scores for the day were recorded by Danny Lee, a Korean-born golfer from New Zealand, two-time AT&T Pro-Am winner Dustin Johnson, and Korean-born Californian Charlie Wi. All three posted 9-under par scores, Lee & Johnson at Pebble Beach, Wi at the shorter, somewhat easier Monterey Peninsula Country Club course. Close behind the leading trio, at 8-under, were Ken Duke, a 43-year-old journeyman golfer originally from Arizona, and recent Nationwide Tour graduate Brian Harman, of St. Simons Island, GA; both posted their scores at Pebble Beach.
Duke, whose checkered career has seen him moving back & forth between the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour a number of times over the years, assured himself a place in Pebble Beach lore when he caught a hot streak on the final nine, shooting a record-breaking 8-under par 28 for the back side of the course, two strokes better than the previous record of 30 strokes set by Dan Pohl in 1980. His routine front nine, with a birdie at the short par-3 7th hole offsetting a bogey on the previous hole, the 523-yard par-5 6th, for a par 36, gave no hint of what was to come. A birdie at the par-4 10th hole was followed by par at the tricky, uphill 11th hole.
Duke then caught fire and ran up a streak of four consecutive birdies on the inland stretch from 12 to 15, capping the run with a hole-out eagle at the testing downhill par-4 16th hole. After a near-miss for birdie at the par-3 17th, Duke put his 3rd shot above the flag at the iconic par-5 closing hole, then rolled in a scary-looking downhill, left-to-right breaking putt of about twenty feet, carding a 36-28-64 round; the 8-under put him in a tie for 4th place with Georgia’s Brian Harman, and the red-hot back nine secured his place in the history books.
Weather and course conditions are expected to be nearly identical for Friday’s second round. Scores may rise somewhat as greens at all three courses dry out somewhat and get speedier, but the calm, clear weather forecast for the remainder of the tournament bodes well for overall good scoring conditions.
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