Afrigather The lengthy slog that’s the first three days of the AT&T Pebble Seaside Professional-Am bought off to a sizzling begin on Thursday as 4 golfers shot 7 underneath or higher and rocketed to the highest of the leaderboard. Although no massive names or megastars have emerged but, a board has began to take form at Pebble Seaside, Monterey Peninsula and Spyglass Hill.
Hank Lebioda leads after capturing 8-under 63, however he is tailed intently by Kurt Kitayama, Chad Ramey and Harry Corridor, all of whom shot 7 underneath on numerous golf programs. Martin Coach, Eric Cole and Aaron Baddeley make up a gaggle that shot 6 underneath and are a bit additional again.
Let’s take a deeper take a look at Lebioda’s massive first day and what’s in retailer for him and the remainder of the sector over the remainder of the week.
The chief
1. Hank Lebioda (-8)
Lebioda shot 63 at Monterey Peninsula on Thursday, which was enjoying as the best of the three programs used over the primary three rounds. It was seemingly that the first-round chief 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 underneath and got here house in 5 underneath for the 63 (Monterey Peninsula, apparently, performs as a par 34 on the entrance and par 37 on the again). It was one of the best rating he is shot all season and simply the second spherical he is shot within the 60s in six tournaments.
“Felt like every little thing [was going right], to be trustworthy with you,” Lebioda mentioned. “Hit lots of nice iron photographs. I made the putts after I was shut. It was only a good day. It was a very nice day.”
Lebioda profitable this week could be stunning. He hasn’t made a minimize up to now this yr and has solely cracked 70 one time. Now to exit and do it in opposition to among the finest gamers on the earth at a spot like Pebble? The up to date odds recommend that others are as skeptical as I’m, however it might be fairly a narrative of Lebioda might cling on.
Different contenders
T2. Kurt Kitayama, Chad Ramey, Harry Corridor (-7)
T5. Martin Coach, Eric Cole, Aaron Baddeley (-6)
T8. Scott Stallings, Ben Martin, Kyle Westmoreland, Keith Mitchell, Harry Higgs (-5)
The excellent news for Lebioda is that the gamers behind him usually are not all that robust. Stallings could possibly be an issue — he performed some really terrific golf at occasions in 2022 — however past that there is not a ton to be petrified of right here.
The place 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 capturing 2 underneath at Spyglass Hill. Spieth and Fitzpatrick shot 1 underneath on the identical golf course (extra in a minute on why that is higher than it seems).
“Spyglass is tough, it is a robust check,” Spieth mentioned. “Would have preferred to have executed higher on my entrance 9. That was actually gettable. Then I believed I performed the again 9 rather well. It was actually weird the final 4 holes or so with the wind. It went from nothing to flipping after which blowing about 25 out of nowhere the opposite route than the forecast. That throws us by a giant loop once you’re prepping for one thing and you have to make the adjustment.”
“I do know one factor, Monterey’s usually the bottom scoring common and I.ve bought to try to get again into it tomorrow,” he added in a while.
Course scores
Listed here are the three scoring averages throughout the golf programs on Thursday.
- Monterey Peninsula: 69.8
- Pebble Seaside: 71.0
- Spyglass Hill: 72.7
To Spieth’s level, capturing 71 at Spyglass is sort of tantamount to capturing 69 at Pebble Seaside. The scoring averages matter maybe extra at this event than at another occasion on the PGA Tour. Because the Hovland-Spieth-Fitzpatrick trio heads to Monterey on Friday, the place the scoring common was almost three strokes simpler in Spherical 1, it is one thing that is price keeping track of.
2023 AT&T Pebble Seaside Professional-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 Corridor: 18-1
We will 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 enjoying 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 Seaside — for the ultimate 36 holes. If he shoots 66 or 67 on Friday at Monterey, it should be off to the races on the weekend.
