Detroit News wire services
Akshay Bhatia fired a bogey-free, 8-under-par 64 at Spyglass Hill Golf Course to reach 15-under 129 and tie Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune for the lead at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Friday in Pebble Beach, Calif.
Hisatsune was the solo first-round leader thanks to a 62 at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Thursday but settled for 67 at Spyglass Hill that featured his first two bogeys of the tournament.
Pebble Beach scoreboard
Rickie Fowler is in the hunt for his first win in more than 2 1/2 years (2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club) after shooting 64 at Spyglass Hill. He moved to 14 under for the tournament, one back of the leaders and tied with Sam Burns (67, Spyglass) for third.
The field played one round apiece at Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill before they spend the weekend rounds at Pebble Beach. There is no 36-hole cut at the $20 million signature event.
Bhatia, 24, is searching for his third career title and biggest achievement on tour. He tied for third last week at the WM Phoenix Open.
Hisatsune was also in contention at Phoenix but settled for a T10. His performance there helped him qualify for this week’s elite field through the Aon Swing 5 pathway.
Min Woo Lee of Australia had a 65 at Pebble Beach to take over fifth place at 12 under. The low round of the day belonged to Harris English, whose 63 at Pebble Beach represented a 10-stroke improvement from his over-par round at Spyglass the day before. English is 8 under.
As play wound down Friday afternoon, Scottie Scheffler was tied for 34th at 6 under. He followed a pedestrian 72 at Pebble with a 6-under 66 at Spyglass, featuring a five-hole stretch on his second nine with three birdies and an eagle.
Clarke shares Chubb Classic lead
Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland made two eagles over his final four holes to grab a share of the first-round lead at the Chubb Classic on Friday in Naples, Fla.
Clarke and Australian Michael Wright posted 7-under-par 65 at Tiburon Golf Club’s Black Course with two rounds to go. Tied for third one stroke behind are defending champion Justin Leonard, Scott Parel, Rob Labritz and Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez.
Clarke already had a busy round when he reached the par-5 15th hole, with five birdies and two bogeys on his card. He reached the green in two on that hole, and again at the par-5 18th, sinking eagle putts both times.
“The one on 15, I hit driver, 3-iron from 237 (yards) to 12 feet and holed it for eagle,” said Clarke, 57. “Then the last one I hit driver, 3-wood. The 3-wood was from 241 or something straight into the wind. Hit it to 15 feet behind the hole. So they were both pretty good. Take those any day.”
Wright, 51, is newer to the tour and is well-positioned to go for his first win.
He sank nine birdies, including four of his last five holes, helping absorb a double bogey at the par-4 13th. He said his son Charlie carried his bag and read most of his putts for him Friday.
“This is his first Champions event and his first event ever was three weeks ago in Australia,” Michael Wright said. “He’s doing a great job. I love having him on the bag.”
Leonard posted four birdies on each nine. After a bogey at No. 17, he bounced back at No. 18 when he stuck his approach shot a few feet from the hole to set up birdie.
“I hit a lot of greens today,” Leonard said. “I think I may have only missed one or two greens. Did make a couple bogeys, but I played well on the par-5s and got off to a good start. I kind of did all the things you need to do around here.”
Leonard won by four shots here in 2025.
Two shots off the pace at 5-under 67 are Bo Van Pelt, David Toms, Germany’s Alex Cejka and South Korea’s K.J. Choi.
Rahm takes lead at LIV Adelaide
Jon Rahm fired a 63 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead into the third round of LIV Golf Adelaide in Australia.
Rahm posted a bogey-free round at Grange Golf Club that included seven birdies – five of them on the back nine – and an eagle on the 561-yard par-5 No. 7 hole to move to 13-under for the tournament.
The Spaniard stands one shot ahead of Ben Campbell, who also recorded seven birdies and an eagle for his 9-under round of 63.
Bryson DeChambeau is in third place at 11-under after shooting a 67.
Rahm can credit his success on Friday to his putting. His eagle on No. 7 was courtesy of a 47-foot putt, and he also holed five more putts of between 10 and 25 feet. He made about 150 feet of putts.
A two-time LIV individual season champ, Rahm is looking for his first tournament win since 2024.
“I can’t remember the last time I made this many, but it was a lot – and the ones that didn’t go in looked like they were going to go in,” Rahm said. “It was a fantastic day on the greens.”
Campbell, of New Zealand, is seeking his first win in Australia as a pro. He had a contingent of family and friends following him.
“It’s great,” Campbell said of his support system. “It’s as close to I get playing at home. Everyone has been amazing.”
Without the windy conditions of Thursday, the course played easier on Friday. The stroke average of 69.035 bested the opening round by more than two strokes.
Thirteen different players recorded eagles or better on Friday. David Puig of Spain made the third albatross in league history with his 2 on the par-5 10th hole.
One of those eagles belonged to DeChambeau, who had an up-and-down round that also included five birdies and two bogeys.
“I was scrambling all day, and that’s something you just can’t do if you’re trying to win a golf tournament,” DeChambeau said.
In fourth place is Anthony Kim (67 on Friday) at 10-under with Talor Gooch (63) and Branden Grace of South Africa (64) in fifth place at 9-under.
On the team front, Campbell’s round helped to propel the RangeGoats into a tie for first at 23-under with Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces, aided by Kim’s performance.
Those teams are one shot ahead of Rahm’s Legion XIII as well as Ripper GC and Torque GC.
Gary Player rips snub with grandsons
Gary Player lashed out at the current leadership of Augusta National after the three-time Masters champion was denied of his request to play a fourball round with his grandsons.
Player, 90, is one of three honorary starters for the first major of the year, which he became the first non-American to win in 1961.
“I have been an ambassador for Augusta for all these years, yet they won’t let me have one round of golf in my life with my three grandsons,” Player told Golf Monthly. “All the courses that have hosted the Open (Championship), the U.S. Open and the PGA (Championship) would oblige, but they won’t do it at Augusta.
“My grandsons are dying to know about their grandfather’s episodes on that golf course. It is just this current management there.
“But these are the times we live in, and I accept it, but I accept it with sadness. When I go there, I feel like I am walking on to a golf course in heaven. I tread very carefully and I love Augusta so much – but I don’t like all the rules.”
Player’s 52 Masters appearances are more than any other player in history, and he began serving as an honorary starter in 2012. During his playing career, the World Golf Hall of Fame member was part of the “Big Three” along with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
He added two more green jackets in 1974 and 1978, with the Masters serving as the site of three of his nine career majors. As a past champion, Palmer has playing privileges at the course. However, unlike Palmer and Nicklaus, Player was never granted membership at Augusta National that would enable him to bring guests to play alongside him.
He previously has criticized his lack of playing privileges at Augusta, saying in 2023 that he was “disillusioned” about the difficulty of playing the course with a guest. At the time, he ranked the Masters last among the four majors.
Player’s son, Wayne, reportedly also received a lifetime ban from Augusta after holding up a pack of golf balls in a marketing stunt during a 2021 ceremony honoring Lee Elder.
“There are a lot of things that have made Augusta what it is, but the part we played was a prevalent part of my career,” Player told Golf Monthly. “(Co- founder) Bobby Jones was a wonderful man and a wonderful asset to a wonderful tournament, as was (member) President (Dwight D.) Eisenhower as was (co- founder) Clifford Roberts. Those three people, they basically made Augusta.
“Then Arnold, Jack and I came along, and we fought it out every year, and then we made Augusta thanks to the coverage and publicity we generated around the Masters, whether the club likes to admit it or not. They won’t admit it, but we made Augusta.”
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