Hisatsune’s 62 (Wow) gives him first day lead at sunny Pebble Beach

PEBBLE BEACH — The weather was surprisingly beautiful. That sneaky lady, Mother Nature, conned us again. The course was perfect for scoring.

That said, who would have imagined a man would shoot double figures under par at historic Pebble Beach?

Not for a tournament but for a single round. Which is what Ryo Hisatsune had Thursday, a 10 under par 62, the first day of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. 

And yet he was only one shot in front of 2 others, Sam Burns and US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley. 

Hisatsune, 23, has been rolling along in recent days as smoothly as the balls he’s hit with his putter. According to Tour statistics he made 160 feet of putts Thursday. 

He tied for 2nd two weekends ago in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Then he finished tied for 10th after briefly leading last weekend at the WM Phoenix Open. 

“Especially as I’m like in two weeks I making goals,” said Hisatsune. “Much different person right now and much more comfortable.  Feeling more comfortable to playing these greens.” 

Rory McIlroy, who won this event a year ago, came in with a 4-under par 68, while Justin Rose, a former champion here and recent winner of the Farmers, had a 69.

Scottie Scheffler, number one in the rankings, could only manage an even par 72. “I feel like typically I’m good at scoring and today I felt like I didn’t score at all,” Scheffler conceded. “Like anything that kind of went wrong seemed to be going that direction and I just felt like I scored poorly.” 

If that sounds like a golfer at every level, good days, bad days, and days you want to try tennis.

Gotterup doesn’t need to try anything. Starting late last summer when he won the Scottish Open and was third in the British Open, Gotterup has done virtually everything right.

Gotterup, hotter of late than even Hisatsune, with victories the last month at the Sony Open in Honolulu and the Phoenix Open, was fourth with an 8 under 64. Two days ago Gotterup spoke of the impermanence of playing in a tournament. That as soon as an event ends you head for the airport leaving all the shots in the rear- view mirror. “You get your moment in the sun,” said Gotterup, and interestingly Thursday it was sunny. “And then you have a new tournament the next week and it’s kind of ready to roll a little bit.”

That’s not dimming Gotterup’s confidence or enthusiasm. Starting near the end of 2025 when he won the Scottish Open and then finished third in the British, he’s been up among the very best in the game. 

“When I needed to, I put the pedal down,” Gotterup said about his 64 on Thursday. He began the round with six consecutive birdies, which most days at Pebble would be impressive. Not bad but this wasn’t most days.  

This was the day Ryo Hisatsune shot 62. Wow.