Wet Weather Causes Snag in Opening Round of Pebble Beach Pro-Am


Just 39 minutes into it, the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am was halted because of thunder showers and wind. The $6.6 million PGA Tour event began Thursday, with play taking place on three courses - the par-72 Pebble Beach Golf Links, par-71 Monterey Peninsula Country Club and par-72 Spyglass Hill.

Rain led to standing water on the greens and puddles in bunkers, forcing officials to work on the courses and causing a delay of nearly three hours. Because of the wet conditions, officials decided to implement lift-clean-and-place rules on all three courses.

Unfortunately, not all the players completed their opening rounds. But among those who did, Tour rookie Andrew Loupe - who entered the tournament with five missed cuts is five starts this season, was atop the leaderboard. The 25-year-old, an LSU grad, posted an 8-under 63 at Monterey Peninsula that included three birdies on the front nine and five more on the back.

Stuart Appleby also had a nice outing at Monterey Peninsula with a 65. The 42-year-old Aussie, a nine-time Tour winner, is looking for his first victory since the 2010 Greenbrier Classic, when he made history by firing a record-tying 59 in the final round.

Posting 6-under scores were Jimmy Walker (66 at Pebble Beach), and Jim Renner and Scott Gardiner, both 65s at Monterey Peninsula. Jordan Spieth opened with a 67 at Spyglass. Phil Mickelson, a four-time winner at Pebble Beach, was 5-under through 15 holes at Monterey Peninsula.

Other scores included a 67 by John Huh at Monterey Peninsula, and a 68 at Spyglass Hill by two-time AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am champion Dustin Johnson. Hunter Mahan had the low round so far at Pebble Beach, a 68.

Opening on Spyglass Hill, defending champion Brandt Snedeker was at even-par through 17 holes when this story was posted. Graeme McDowell, who won the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, carded a 71 at Spyglass Hill.

James Hahn enjoyed the shot of the day. The 2003 Cal graduate saw this third shot from 90 yards into the sixth hole at Pebble Beach land past the cup and spin back into the hole for an eagle on the par-5. The 32-year-old made the turn in 3-under 33, but ended up recording all pars the rest of the way for a 69.

Officials hope to get the event caught up Friday, when the weather forecast is expected to improve, with a 20 percent chance of rain. But the weekend is looking drearier, as a major storm system is expected in northern California. There's a 60 percent of rain on Saturday and 40 percent Sunday.

For updated scoring, visit http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html.