A golfer who has demonstrated exceptional form globally in recent weeks proved unstoppable at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Thursday. Ryo Hisatsune sustained his impressive streak during the inaugural round of the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, posting an unblemished 10-under 62 to secure the initial advantage in the season’s first signature tournament.
This score of 62 marks Hisatsune’s personal best on the PGA Tour, achieved in his first appearance at the Pebble Beach event. His prior best, a 63, occurred merely a week prior at the WM Phoenix Open, where he concluded tied for tenth. The Japanese competitor sank over 150 feet of putts and spectacularly holed out from off the green for a birdie on the par-4 16th, initiating a sequence of three consecutive strong finishes leading to the clubhouse.
Heading into Friday’s play at Spyglass Hill, his advantage stands at one shot ahead of the American, Sam Burns, who also exhibited superb putting to card a 63. Keegan Bradley matched that score in a later group, narrowly missing an opportunity on his final hole to equal the Spyglass course record. Burns slightly surpassed all competitors in strokes gained putting on Thursday, adding over five strokes with his putter. Hisatsune also achieved a gain of more than five strokes on the putting surfaces.
Sam Burns commented on his round, stating: “Anytime you can go bogey-free, regardless of where you’re playing, is always a good thing, and especially to do it around here,” Burns said. “It was nice. I made a significant amount of putts and feel like I was hitting it pretty nice. It was a good combination for today. The weather was perfect, so we were just trying to enjoy the day.”
The Pebble Beach course averaged close to four shots below par during the initial round, whereas Spyglass Hill presented a challenge approximately two strokes tougher.
Despite the favorable playing conditions, top-ranked Scottie Scheffler once again encountered difficulties in his opening performance. Following a 73 to begin his previous event, which was his first round above par since June 2025, the player with four major titles posted a 72, positioning him 10 shots behind the leaders—the identical margin he faced after the first 18 holes at the WM Phoenix Open.
At Spyglass Hill, Bradley recorded the day’s best score with an impressive 9-under showing. The recent U.S. Ryder Cup captain seems to be regaining his form, while Jordan Spieth displayed renewed vigor with a clean 66, free of bogeys. Concurrently, defending champion Rory McIlroy encountered putting challenges, signing for a 68 to commence his title defense, notwithstanding two double bogeys.
Leader
1. Ryo Hisatsune (-10): The young 23-year-old is accumulating significant tournament exposure. Hisatsune participated in the concluding pairing at Torrey Pines on Sunday, securing a second-place finish behind Justin Rose, and was also in the Saturday final group at the WM Phoenix Open with his idol, Hideki Matsuyama, ultimately achieving a top-10 placement. Exhibiting considerable self-assurance, the right-handed player demonstrated proficient putting in the first round, holing putts from distances of 42, 31, 17, 16, 13, and 12 feet. He expressed fondness for putting on these poa annua greens, though his iron play will require enhancement over the subsequent 54 holes if he intends to convert this strong start into his inaugural PGA Tour triumph.
Contenders
T2. Sam Burns, Keegan Bradley (-9)
T4. Chris Gotterup, Tony Finau, Patrick Rodgers (-8)
T7. Nick Taylor, Akshay Bhatia, Andrew Novak, Tom Hoge (-7)
T11. Russell Henley, Jake Knapp, Jordan Spieth, Sepp Straka, Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Patrick Cantlay, Mackenzie Hughes (-6)
Numerous prominent players feature prominently on the initial sections of the leaderboard, including Gotterup, who has already secured two victories this season; however, Jordan Spieth’s performance at Spyglass is particularly noteworthy. Beyond his eagle hole-out on the par-4 9th, he navigated the par-72 course without a single dropped shot, sustaining his previously gained momentum. The key factor? Spieth’s short-range putting. While he typically might miss one short putt, Spieth was impeccable within 10 feet and also made putts from 14 and 12 feet, with the latter on the final hole preserving his par and his clean scorecard.
Regarding his play, Spieth stated: “I thought I was really good on and around the greens. I actually didn’t hit many greens for how kind of well I thought I was swinging the club. I pulled a few kind of the wrong clubs. It’s easy to do out here. You can pull a club you think’s going to go far enough, and it just doesn’t go anywhere here. So I’ve got to get a little tighter on some of that decision making, but when I got into trouble, I got out of trouble.
Obviously, holing a wedge shot was probably the highlight of the day. But I just really plotted my way around. When I missed, I missed in the right spot. I’d like to get a little bit tighter as we go around Pebble, but at Spyglass 6 under may be the best I ever shot around here, so, very pleased.”
Scheffler’s struggles
For the second consecutive week, Scheffler faces the challenge of recovering from a 10-shot deficit over the remaining 54 holes of the competition. Unlike his WM Phoenix Open experience, where a single hour disrupted an otherwise solid round, Scheffler’s initial performance at Pebble Beach was characterized by a gradual decline. He failed to convert birdie opportunities from 8 feet on holes 1 and 2, made one from that distance on hole 4, only to lose a shot from 4 feet on hole 5. A birdie materialized on his card at the par-5 6th after almost reaching the green in two, but this would be his final birdie until the concluding hole of the day.
During this period, Scheffler persistently battled with his putter—notably missing a par putt from under 3 feet on the 12th—but his iron play was unusually subpar. He surrendered approximately 2.50 strokes on approach shots, placing 73rd among the 80 participants in this metric, and consistently failed to position himself for tap-in putts—a rare occurrence in his typical performance.
2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am updated odds, picks
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
- Keegan Bradley: 8-1
- Chris Gotterup: 19/2
- Sam Burns: 10-1
- Ryo Hisatsune: 13-1
- Matt Fitzpatrick: 17-1
- Rory McIlroy: 17-1
- Jake Knapp: 18-1
- Patrick Rodgers: 18-1
For individuals curious about his chances, Scheffler is currently offered at 35-1, a significant departure from his initial 3-1 odds at the event’s commencement. While no specific recommendation is provided, a score of 65 appears highly probable for him on Friday. McIlroy, however, could emerge as a strong contender, having squandered numerous putting opportunities yet still managing to surpass the Spyglass scoring average by a couple of shots. His decision to revert to blade irons seemed beneficial, at least for Thursday’s play.
