Scottie Scheffler joins 3-way lead at Pebble Beach Pro-Am

 

[February 03, 2024]  World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler fired an 8-under-par 64 and Swedish up-and-comer Ludvig Aberg shot a 7-under 65 to tie Belgium's Thomas Detry for the second-round lead at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Friday in Pebble Beach, Calif.

Scheffler, Aberg and Detry are 11-under 133 through two rounds, one stroke ahead of Patrick Cantlay. All four played their second round at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

The 80 players in the signature event's field played one round apiece at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course to open the tournament. They will proceed to Pebble Beach for the weekend rounds without a 36-hole cut as they vie for shares of a $20 million purse.

While 18-hole leader Detry settled for a 70 on Friday, Scheffler stayed bogey-free and rolled in his seventh and eighth birdies of the day on the 17th and 18th holes. A 7 1/2-foot putt pushed him to 11 under as the day ended.

This is Scheffler's debut in the tournament and his first time at Pebble Beach since the 2019 U.S. Open.

"I felt like I hit a lot of quality shots and really nice ones taking off spin into greens, stuff like that, giving myself a lot of good looks," said Scheffler, who hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation.

Aberg's highlight was a 35 1/2-foot lag putt from off the green for eagle at the par-5 second hole. The 24-year-old Ryder Cup star added five birdies and also kept any blemishes off his card.

Aberg, who picked up his first PGA Tour victory last November at the RSM Classic, said he had been fighting through some streaky putting.

"It's been a little bit a lot of good and a lot of bad," Aberg said. "We just checked a little bit of alignment, a little bit of setup yesterday and try to keep it inside the frame. So not too much, but obviously that's what you've got to do. ... Golf is a very humbling sport, so just try to take it for what it is and try to keep it going tomorrow."

Cantlay finished his round with 11 straight pars to stay at 10 under. That kept him one shot ahead of Justin Thomas (67, Pebble), Argentina's Emiliano Grillo (69, Pebble) and France's Matthieu Pavon (70, Spyglass Hill), who are knotted at 9 under.

Following a down year in 2023, Thomas, a two-time major champ, opened 2024 with a tie for third at The American Express and finds himself in the mix again.

"I'm plenty comfortable enough and playing well enough to win," Thomas said. "I feel like I am. It's just about doing it and getting myself in contention more often and kind of feeling those feelings again."

Other notable names lurking are Keegan Bradley (8 under), Collin Morikawa (7 under), England's Matt Fitzpatrick (7 under) and Rickie Fowler (6 under). Defending champ Justin Rose of England shot a 71 at Pebble Beach on Friday and is 5 under, in a tie for 23rd.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland struggled to a 2-over 74 at Pebble Beach, including a double bogey at the par-4 fourth hole. He is at 1 over, tied for 64th.

Nick Dunlap is tied for 78th (last place) at 6 over through two rounds. Dunlap, who shot 74 at Spyglass Hill on Friday, is playing his first event as a professional after winning The American Express as an amateur two weeks ago.

--Field Level Media

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