At Pebble Beach, Detry is best in the world of golf

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PEBBLE BEACH — The world of golf, indeed, is the world of golf, a place where it’s no less important to have a passport than a repeating swing and tournaments may need to distribute pronunciation guides along with yardage books.

Yes, there were three U.S. citizens scattered among the high finishers Thursday in the opening round of the UN — sorry, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Patrick Cantlay, Rickie Fowler and Colin Morikawa; all Californians.

But they were as much the exception as the sunshine that was present and accounted for until late afternoon showers returned to Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill courses still soggy from an overnight downpour.

In first with a 9-under par 63 at Spyglass was Thomas Detry of Belgium (and the U of Illinois). After decades of almost becoming secondary to the celebrity amateurs, under the revised format, the pros were very much dominant.

Maybe not as many laughs—as mentioned, the prime attraction was no longer entertainer Bill Murray, but the world’s No. 2 ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland.

He was in the lead for a while at Spyglass but after a penalized incorrect drop—the rule changed at the beginning of 2024, McIlroy shot a 69 at Spyglass.

Cantlay had  64 at Spyglass, which because it is on rolling hills and not alongside the Pacific, usually fares better in the rain. The low round at historic Pebble was by Matthieu Pavon of France, with a 65.

He won last weekend’s Farmers at Torrey Pines. Some 400 miles down the coast, where Detry had the lead with a hole to play in the 2nd round, but had golfer’s luck.  His beautiful pitch shot h to the 18th green rolled off and into a pond.

Here at Pebble Beach, this opening round was the foreign invasion, Emiliano Grillo of Argentina (66), Si Woo Kim of Korea (66), Ludvig Åberg of Sweden (68), and Justin Rose of England — the 2023 champion — also at 68.

“Good today,” said Detry. Then, more emphatically, “Perfect.”

 At least perfect enough to get in front with three rounds remaining.

He holed his approach on the 18th at Spyglass for birdied three which gave him the lead.

“I’m not going to lie,” said Detry of his failure to close the second round of the Farmers. “Last weekend was a bitter pill to swallow. I played some great golf, and I didn’t really have the finish that I wanted.”

In a tournament, only one person does, no matter which country he’s from.