Soggy AT&T. Andrew Loupe Leads at a Still Incomplete Round 1

Andrew Loupe shot a -8 under par round at another delayed round 1 of the AT&T  Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsular.

Andrew Loupe / Getty Images

Andrew recorded an impressive -8 under par 63 in the first round of the AT&T, on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsular.

Monterey Peninsula played the easiest, and Andrew took full advantage of that opportunity. He never really had to scramble for a par, and missed only one fairway, added to that only two of his birdies were from over ten feet. This was his first trip to the area, and it was everything he imagined, but this is only the first round;

“This place is amazing, I really just stick to the plan and I know that my group is good. I have one hundred percent trust in my swing coach, my family, my trainer. I guess when you’re in those ruts, I just kept telling myself, you’re supposed to be here, you’re going to play good, just keep playing. This is just one round, guys, but I feel good. I did miss a few cuts coming into Sawgrass and played good, and I just knew that I could do it again. Would I like to play more consistently? Yes. But I just want to keep this rolling.”

There are five players tied in second position at -5 under par. four of them playing at Monterrey Peninsular, they were Stuart Appleby, Jim Renner, Scott Gardiner and Richard H Lee. The only exception is Jimmy Walker who played Pebble Beach.

Defending Champion Brandt Snedeker had a an even par round 72 at Spyglass Hill, leaving him down tied in 97th place.

Jordan Spieth had the best round at Spyglass Hill, a -5 under par  67, tied in seventh place and said he was playing safe on a good day to be playing Spyglass;

“It was more of an effort just to really play safe on the harder holes. The par fives you can take advantage of out here. I three-putted the first par 5 for par, but bounced back on the other par fives. And then I finally made some putts on the back nine. We picked a great day to have Spyglass.”

Dustin Johnson,who is a two-time winner of this event, had a -4 under par 68 at Spyglass Hill playing with his future father-in-law, hockey great Wayne Gretzky.

Wayne said he was happy for Dustin, he was here just for fun;

” More happy with the fact he was four under today and it’s a tough course. I’m here for fun, he’s here for work.”

Phil Mickelson, playing with Condoleezza Rice, and a four-time champion here, was at -5 under par through fifteen holes when the round was stopped because of darkness.

The AT&T saga continues.

RBC Canadian Open. Brendan Steele, !st Round Iron Man

Brendan Steele proved to be the iron man in the first round of the RBC Canadian Open at Glenn Abbey G.C. in Ontario.

Brendan Steele / Getty Images

Brendan shot a first round of -7 under par 65, with eight birdies and one bogey, to lead the RBC Canadian Open by one shot at the Glenn Abbey G.C.

Brendan said he loved playing in Canada;

“I love being up here, I played in `06 and `07 on PGA TOUR Canada. And really, got me ready to play the Web.com Tour, which I played in `08, `09 and `10. It was a great progression in my life. I had a great time up here. Made a lot of friends and spent two summers traveling the country. “Really, just an overall good day, hit a lot of good shots and was able to hole some putts. When you have a good round like that and you play that well, you kind of have everything going. But today was probably the most complete round that I’ve had all year, so that was kind of nice. Didn’t miss many greens, didn’t hit many shots off line, and I was able to roll a few putts in.”

Matt Kuchar, who is a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR this year, was a stroke back at -6 under par along with Scott Gardiner and Scott Brown. with rounds of 66. Matt impressively eagled the par-5 18th hole, his ninth hole of the day.

Matt said he had enjoyed his round, relishing the easier golf course, The Open was too difficult, he preferred the friendly North American set up;

“It was fun to be out here. It was perfect conditions. I feel like last week, conditions were so challenging and so difficult at the British Open, to come here and to play golf that is more friendly and more what we’re used to the PGA TOUR was great, the conditions are spectacular. The course is in great shape. We had very little wind, good temperature, so it was a great opportunity. The par fives are all attainable and birdieable.”

Sorry Matt, but that kind of thinking will never win you a Major, probably explains the eleven missed cuts in Majors over the last ten years.

Hunter Mahan and David Lingmerth both had first rounds of -5 under par 67, tied in fifth place.

Hunter is another golfer who likes the easier conditions;

“Gave myself a lot of good looks and the greens were rolling true. It’s in great shape right now. In the morning, we’ll have perfect conditions.”

Carl Keffer is the only Canadian-born champion, winning in 1909 and 1914, Brad Fritsch was the top Canadian in the first round this year  with a -3 under par 69, tied in 16th place.

Sony Open, Rookies Rule The Roost, Tied at the Top

 

 Russell Henley and Scott Langley / Hugh Gentry Reuters

The two first year rookies, Russell Henley and Scott Langley are tied at the top of the leaderboard of the Sony Open at the Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, at the conclusion of the third round on Saturday. They share the lead at -17 under par, a three shot lead over Tim Clark who is alone in third place, at -14 under par.

Russell  fired a three-under-par 67 third round, while Scott carded a 65, to level the scores for the tournament for these two friends.

Apart from leading the tournament the pair now share the course lowest 54 hole record, at 193. Russell is still amazed at the experience he and Scott are enjoying;

“A month ago I was at orientation, and Scott just done with Q-School, and I gave him a ride to the airport. We had lunch and I was telling him how awesome it was I was on the PGA Tour. This is kind like a dream, it’s weird. It’s like I’m not awake, very weird. Whatever happens tomorrow, I’m going to learn from it. I’ve played great golf and I feel like I can compete out here. Win this tournament or not, it’s already been a very successful week.”

Scott was calculating the odds on him winning, and is happy the pair will together again tomorrow for the final round;

” The Vegas odds on me winning were probably not very good, I hope somebody bet on me and I make him a lot of money. I never imagined that, it’s certainly odd, but you know, if there was a guy in the field that I would love to do it with, it would be Russell because we play pretty similar games, and we’re kind of the same guy on the course. We play pretty quickly and pretty easy going, kind of feel our way around, not too technical. So there are a lot of guys that I enjoy playing with, but Russell is definitely one of them.”

A victory for either player on Sunday would emulate the achievement of fellow American Garrett Willis, who was the most recent rookie to win on his debut as a PGA Tour member, at the 2001 Tucson Open.

Tim Clark is happy with his golfing progress since coming back from injury, he would love to win this tournament, but is sure neither of the rookies will be worried about leading;

“I’m sure they won’t be too intimidated, that’s going to be fun to see them play. There’s all these young guys coming out these days, and they’re ready to go right from the start. So it’s going to be a fun battle.”

There are two players tied in fourth place at -13 under par, Scott Gardiner and Charles Howell 111, or Chucky three sticks, as he is known as on the Tour. At four shots back these guys must still feel they are in with a shout.

At -12 under par are a host of players, most notably for us in New Zealand, one of them is Danny Lee. It is good to see the Kiwi contesting on the final day. But as I said yesterday, if  Russell and Scott are paired together for the last round, one of them will be the winner.