Golf Roundup: Johnson overpowering at Pebble
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Danny Lee, of New Zealand, one of three tied for the lead at 9 under after the first round Thursday, hits from the ninth fairway of the Pebble Beach Golf Links.
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Twenty months later, Dustin Johnson finally hit the drive he wanted at Pebble Beach. Ten years later, Tiger Woods must have wondered what kept him away from the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in California.
On a spectacular day of scenery and scoring, Johnson ripped a tee shot on the third hole at Pebble Beach and then pitched in for eagle from 41 yards in front of the green. He added another eagle on his way to a 9-under 63 Thursday and a three-way tie atop the leader board.
Woods was five shots out of the lead, a solid start to his PGA Tour season. He had six birdies in a 4-under 68 at Spyglass Hill, the fourth-best score on that course. Spyglass was hardest of the three courses, though not by much. The weather was so pure that all three courses played about one shot under par.
Charlie Wi was at Monterey Peninsula Country Club and had a shot at 59 without ever knowing it. Wi was 8 under after a tap-in birdie on the 13th hole, and needed only three birdies in the final five holes. Trouble is, he had no idea the Shore Course was a 70. He made one more birdie and had a 9-under 61.
"I was looking at the scorecard like, 'What's the par here?' I did not know it was a par 70," Wi said. "That 59 never crossed my mind."
Joining them was former U.S. Amateur Danny Lee, who holed a bunker shot for eagle at No. 2 and holed out from the 11th fairway with a wedge for another eagle to match Johnson at 9-under 63.
Johnson is turning into his generation's "Prince of Pebble." He won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in consecutive years, and then had a three-shot lead at Pebble in the U.S. Open two years ago until he shot 82 in the final round. On the third hole of that round, he hit driver left into the bushes for a lost ball and made double bogey.
On Thursday, he smashed a driver nearly 340 yards over the trees to just short of the green, setting up eagle. Even now, he still thinks about that tee shot in the U.S. Open. Walking off the tee, he said to caddie Bobby Brown, "I could have used that in the U.S. Open." Johnson overpowered the par 5s at Pebble Beach, the secret to playing that course well. He had a 6-iron for his second shot at the par-5 second for an easy birdie, holed a 65-foot eagle putt on the sixth hole, got up and down from the bunker just short of the 14th for birdie, then cringed when his 40-foot eagle attempt on the 18th just turned away.
• Dubai Desert Classic: Rafael Cabrera-Bello made nine birdies in his first 11 holes to finish at 9-under 63 for a two-shot lead after the first round in United Arab Emirates. Marcel Siem and Scott Jamieson each shot 65. Reigning U.S. Open champ Rory McIlroy was three back, making seven birdies on the final 10 holes.
• Women's Australian Open: American Stacy Lewis and Australia's Sarah Kemp shared the lead at 4-under 69 in Melbourne, leaving top-ranked Yani Tseng a stroke back in her bid to win the event for the third consecutive year.
First Published February 10, 2012 12:00 am
