Thomas Detry of Belgium simply outclassed a great field on day one.
The 31-year-old Detry, who has won twice as a pro, chipped in from the rough for a birdie on his last hole to cap a nine-under-par 63 at Spyglass Hill Golf Course and take a one-stroke lead over sixth-ranked Patrick Cantlay in the 83rd Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The 80 golfers in the limited-field event will play one round each at Spyglass Hill and one at Pebble Beach Golf Links on the first two days of the no-cut event before the final two rounds are played exclusively at Pebble Beach.
“It was a great round of golf,” said Detry, who won the 2016 Bridgestone Challenge on the Challenge Tour. “I was driving it great out there. I didn’t really have any misses. I drove it far as well. The last hole was just perfect.
“It was an uphill lie, I felt pretty comfortable and I’d put it within three feet. And it rolled nicely, just trickled in the hole. It was lovely to watch.
Detry, who tied for 20th last week in the Farmers Insurance Open, birdied the first three holes and the last three among his 10 birdies against a single bogey in the 63.
Cantlay, of Los Alamitos and UCLA, collected seven of his eight birdies om the last 11 holes in a bogey-free 64 at Spyglass Hill, while Matthieu Pavon of France, who won the Farmers Insurance Open last week at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, birdied four of the last five holes in a 65 at Pebble Beach.
“My short game was really sharp and made a bunch of those midrange putts to keep the momentum going,” said Cantlay, who won the 2021 Tour Championship among his eight victories on the PGA Tour.
“I think you have to compartmentalize. When you’re doing what you’re doing you have to be as focused as you can be. Maybe it’s a little harder with all the distractions, but resolve to do as best I can in focusing at the task at hand. And I thought I did a good job of that today at Spyglass.”
Si Woo Kim of South Korea holed out for an eagle from 41 yards on the sixth hole in a 66 at Pebble Beach and is a tie for fourth with Emiliano Grillo of Argentina, who made three birdies in a bogey-free 66 at Spyglass Hill.
Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa of La Canada Flintridge and Cal mad three birdies down the stretch in a 67 at Pebble Beach and is tied for sixth with Rickie Fowler of Murrieta, who carded a bogey-free 67 at Spyglass Hill.
Defending champion Justin Rose of England birdied the first three holes in a 68 at Spyglass Hill and is in a big tie for eighth with 2023 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Eric Cole of Palm Springs, who birdied the last two holes at Pebble Beach; Ludvig Aberg of Sweden (68, Spyglass Hill); Justin Thomas (68, Spyglass Hill); Denny McCarthy (68, Pebble Beach), and Sam Burns (68, Spyglass Hill).
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler made three early birdies in a 69 at Spyglass Hill and is in a tie for 14th that includes fourth-ranked Viktor Hovland of Norway, who birdied the last two holes at Spyglass Hill, seventh-ranked Max Homa of Valencia and Cal, who made two late birdies at Pebble Beach, and eighth-ranked Matt Fitzpatrick of England, who had three birdies on each nine at Pebble Beach.
Second-ranked Rory McIlroy was assessed a two-stroke penalty and recorded a three-over-par 8 on the seventh hole in a 71 at Spyglass Hill and is tied for 39th, while ninth-ranked Brian Harman shot 72 at Spyglass Hill and is in a tie for 50th that includes 10th-ranked Wyndham Clark, the reigning U.S. Open champion, who made two late birdies at Spyglass Hill.
Fifth-ranked Xander Schauffele of La Jolla and San Diego State hit his tee shot into the water en route a triple-bogey 8 on the last hole at Pebble Beach and is tied for 62d at 73.
For complete results and second-round tee times, visit: https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard
