Sahith Theegala
Pebble Beach: Indian American Sahith Theegala opened with a 2-under 70 in the US$20 million AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, one of the signature events on the PGA TOUR. Theegala was tied for 29th place.
Theegala, who started the year with a runner-up finish at the Sentry, started on the tenth and had three birdies against bogey in his first nine holes. On the second nine he dropped a shot on par-5 first and closed the day with another dropped shot on ninth. In between he birdied the fifth and seventh.
Flying the Asian flag high was Korean star Si Woo Kim whose brilliant hole-out eagle from the fairway helped him post a 6-under 66 in testing conditions.
Making his season debut, three-time FedExCup Champion and 24-time PGA TOUR winner Rory McIlroy (T39/-1) was assessed a two-stroke penalty after his drop on the par-5 seventh hole at Spyglass.
The four-time PGA TOUR winner found the bottom of the cup on the sixth hole, his 15th of the day at Pebble Beach Golf Links as he renewed his love affair with the iconic avenue where he holds a career best finish of T4 in 2019 in five previous visits.
Thomas Detry of Belgium fired his career-low round with a 10-birdie 63 at Spyglass Hills Golf Course to lead from former FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay, who carded a 64 also at Spyglass.
Last week’s Farmers Insurance Open winner Matthieu Pavon, the first French champion on TOUR since World War II, extended his rich vein of form with a 65 at Pebble Beach.
Kim, who has two T25s as his best finishes in three starts in the 2024 season, produced a stellar mid-round run with six birdies and one eagle, but dropped two bogeys including one on his last hole at the ninth in wet and cold conditions. The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is the second Signature event this season.
Countryman S.H. Kim opened his campaign at Pebble Beach with a 70 while World No. 13 Tom Kim ground out a 71 (Pebble Beach), as did Byeong Hun An (Spyglass).
The 80-man field will play the a round each at Pebble Beach and Spyglass before the former hosts the weekend rounds. There is no 36-hole cut this week.
Hideki Matsuyama of Japan was way down in T-75, while the Amex winner, Nick Dunlap, who turned pro after the win was T-77 and last with round of 76.
The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is the second Signature Event of the 2024 PGA TOUR Season and only Signature Event that has a set field size (due to the pro-am format). The event has features no cut and is played on two courses (Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course), with the pro-am portion concluding on Friday.
