Six tied for the lead at Pebble Beach
This was a long walk in a beautiful park Friday. Waves were breaking along the shore. Fish leaped in the sea. Otters sunned themselves and six golfers playing on three courses on the Monterey Peninsula swept through the gorgeous scenery and onto the top of the leaderboard at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Defending champion and first-round leader Dustin Johnson was one of them. The lanky long hitter from Myrtle Beach, S.C., never lost first place. Others just took pieces of it.
Johnson shot a two-under-par 68 on the newly redone Shore Course at the Monterey Peninsula Country Club for a two-day total of 10-under 132.
Also tied for the lead are former Long Beach State star Paul Goydos, who had a seven-under 65 on Spyglass Hill; Bryce Molder, who had a 65 on the same course Johnson played; Alex Cejka of the Czech Republic; J.B. Holmes, who finished tied for third last week at the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club; and Matt Jones.
A shot back and all alone in second place is David Duval, who shot a four-under 68 on the Pebble Beach Golf Links course that will host the U.S. Open this summer. Meanwhile, Padraig Harrington, D.J. Trahan and Alex Prugh are two shots back, and K.J. Choi, Phil Mickelson and seven others are three shots off the lead.
If there is a sentimental favorite among the fans here, it is Duval. He was ranked No. 1 in the world in 1999 (the year he scored a 59 at the Bob Hope Classic) and won the 2001 British Open. But his ranking plunged to as low as 882nd in the world last year as he struggled with constant back problems.
His head bobbed up last year at the U.S. Open at Bethpage in New York, where he finished tied for second. But he made the cut in only six of the 22 tournaments he entered. After the first round here, Duval was cautious. Scoring well was fine, he said, but at 38 and with a history of having major success, it isn’t worth it to post the occasional good round.
“I really need to make some consistent breakthroughs,” he said. “It’s not enough for me to just show up for a day or two.”
Even this week Duval was troubled by his balky back. He withdrew from a practice round Monday after three holes.
“So I’m just happy to be playing,” he said Friday. His description of the back problem was simple: “Just 9 1/2 years of the same thing. Bad back, that’s it. It went out really bad the other day, so other than that, I don’t know.”
Posting the consecutive scores that he has here, Duval said, is proof of what his practice has been telling him. “I feel like I’m playing well,” he said. “But I feel like I have been playing well. I just don’t feel as if I’ve gotten anything out of it for a long time. I feel that my performance at the Open last year was more reflective of how I was playing than the rest of my year. But I don’t have an explanation as to why that is.
“But I feel if I hit the golf ball like this for the next 10 months I could finish anywhere from first to 10th on the money list. You just don’t hit it that well and not play great.”
Duval said he appreciated the sponsors who have offered him exemptions to enter events like this and the fans noisy in their support.
“It makes me feel good,” Duval said. “It makes me believe that decisions I’ve made throughout the course of my career and the way I’ve supported places and interacted with folks and conducted myself, it’s been noticed.”
Goydos got through his round relatively unnoticed, but people close to the game have paid attention. Last week U.S. Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin named Goydos one of four assistant captains for this fall’s competition in Wales, though Goydos hopes to qualify as a player as well.
His day didn’t get off to a great start for a captain or a player.
“I got to Spyglass and realized I hadn’t put my golf shoes on,” said Goydos, who ended up playing a bogey-free round. “I hit a few putts, then got back in the car and got my golf shoes. I got back, hit a few balls and went to tee off.
“But don’t write that. I don’t want anybody to think I’m an idiot.”
Not an idiot. Just a co-leader for a day.
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