So who's really leading the Pebble Beach AT&T?
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — The game is the same, hitting a little white ball as few times as possible, but the courses are different. Which makes the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am perhaps as much mystery as history.
Day one of this event — where thanks to Bill Murray there may be as many laughs as putts — gave us a leaderboard with a man named Hank Lebioda ahead of everybody else.
As they say, we will find out in a matter of days, or at least by Sunday evening when every one of the 156, or at least those who have made the cut after three rounds, finish their cycles.
So you are not familiar with any of the names. Well, be patient and persistent. Somewhere a few clicks down are a U.S. Open winner (Justin Rose, 69 at Pebble Beach), a Masters winner (Danny Willett, 71 at Spyglass Hill) and a winner of the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open (Jordan Spieth, 71 at Spyglass Hill).
The weather, often the deciding factor in wintertime on the Monterey Peninsula, wasn’t bad most of Thursday. Then it got semi-brutal, the wind so strong you’re surprised they didn’t post small golfer warnings.
Monterey Peninsula’s Shore Course is mostly tucked in among the pine trees until it swings out toward Monterey Bay.
Coming down the last two hole, said Harry Hall, another of the newer names who shot 64 at MPCC (par is 71), “It started to blow 45 miles an hour. It was crazy. Happy to get in a 7-under.”
Spieth has won this tournament, and last year he missed by a shot. He knows the courses and the conditions, which doesn’t necessarily mean he loves them. Golf is a test of making the best of the worst,
“Spyglass is hard,” said Spieth. “It’s a tough test. Would have liked to have done better on my front nine. That was really forgettable.
“Then I thought I played the back nine really well. It was really bizarre the last four holes or so with the wind. It went from nothing to flipping and then blowing about 25 out of nowhere the other direction than the forecast. That throws us through a big loop when you're prepping for something and you got to make the adjustment.
“But I had a good last three holes and that always kind of puts a smile on your face. I wish I would have shot a few under today. Just a couple early iron shots I hung right.”
Bill Murray has been hanging in at the AT&T seemingly forever. Thursday was the 20th anniversary of the movie “Groundhog Day,” which helped make him the tournament’s primary attraction. Others may come and go, but almost always he’s in the field.
We know his name and his game.