28D AGO

Spyglass Hill pacesetters have chance to take control at Pebble Beach

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Written by Ben Everill

First off, to anyone who followed me on Ludvig Åberg this week … an apology. I was banking on the young Swede being over his illness from Torrey Pines and I couldn’t have been more wrong.

As painful as it is to admit. Being dead wrong as a golf pundit can happen. In the case of Åberg, who is dead last of 80 players, it hurts. But at least some of our other picks and sleepers are alive. When an Åberg situation does happen, you have to be like Ted Lasso says – a goldfish. Let it go.

And so, here I am ready to put my neck on the chopping block again in the live betting markets. Once back into the fray!

As it often has, Spyglass Hill played a little harder than Pebble Beach in the opening round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. With minimal wind to speak of, the picturesque Pebble played to a 68.175 stroke average compared to the 69.775 a little way down 17-Mile Drive at Spyglass Hill.

As such, Russell Henley’s 8-under 64 at Spyglass Hill that leads the field is even more impressive. With 14 players inside the top 10 through the opening round, nine of them started at Pebble Beach.

Sharing second place on the leaderboard with 7-under 65s are Viktor Hovland, Justin Rose, Jake Knapp and Cam Davis from Pebble plus Sepp Straka and Rasmus Højgaard from Spyglass Hill.

Patrick Cantlay, Shane Lowry, Eric Cole, Lee Hodges and Lucas Glover shot 6-under 66 at Pebble Beach to share eighth place with Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas from Spyglass Hill. McIlroy and Lowry thrilled fans with each carding a hole-in-one.


Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry card first-round aces at AT&T Pebble Beach
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      Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry card first-round aces at AT&T Pebble Beach



      Pre-tournament favorite Scottie Scheffler has maintained top billing on the odds boards thanks to a 5-under 67 at Spyglass Hill.

      The forecast for Friday’s second round is similar to the opening round with rain and wind not expected until the weekend. This gives those heading to Pebble Beach a real chance to make a move for the tournament.

      As such, those players heading to Pebble, understandably have shorter odds than their counterparts. FanDuel Sportsbook has the current odds as follows:

      • +400: Scottie Scheffler (-5 SH, T15)
      • +600: Rory McIlroy (-6 SH, T8)
      • +700: Justin Thomas (-6 SH, T8)
      • +900: Russell Henley (-8 SH, first)
      • +1200: Rasmus Højgaard (-7 SH, T2)
      • +1400: Sepp Straka (-7 SH, T2)
      • +1800: Patrick Cantlay (-6 PB, T8)
      • +2800: Collin Morikawa (-3 SH, T36)
      • +4000: Cam Davis (-7 PB, T2)
      • +4500: Shane Lowry (-6 PB, T8)

      Given my outright picks (Ludvig Åberg and Jason Day) are on the struggle bus, I need to reset my thinking and start again. Day, at 2-under, does head to Pebble but may have given too much start to the field even in a no-cut event. I’m going to throw up a few players at this stage before revisiting at the halfway mark where everyone returns to Pebble Beach for the weekend and we will have a greater understanding of impending weather.

      Justin Thomas +700

      No one was better than Thomas in Strokes Gained: Approach on Thursday and he’s headed to Pebble Beach with its small greens for the rest of the tournament. We know his Achilles heel has been his putter but if he’s giving himself more close chances than anyone else, he’s going to head the correct way on this leaderboard.

      Sepp Straka +1400

      We can’t keep ignoring this guy when he gets into contention. The birdie machine is a recent winner at The American Express and gained strokes on the field in all key metrics on Spyglass Hill Thursday. Is a candidate to go super low at Pebble in calm conditions.

      Patrick Cantlay +1800

      Quite simply we are running with the horse for this course here, banking that he can be the type to tame Spyglass this week before returning to Pebble Beach. Cantlay has been T11-T4-T3-T11 in his last four runs at this tournament, so he clearly has some affinity with it. Last year he shot 64 on Spyglass Hill and if he does that again he might be leading the tournament.

      Wildcards: Shane Lowry +4500 / Cam Davis +4000

      With Scheffler, McIlroy, Thomas and co in the mix it sends capable players, but those without the same gravitas, into the realm of decent odds should they maintain good play. Either Lowry or Davis could surprise this week. Both are previous TOUR winners -- Lowry of course a major winner. It is a risk, as they have to get through Spyglass Hill tomorrow, but if you think they maintain their form, the odds are available now.

      For resources to overcome a gambling problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER today.

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