One of the most high-profile players in the world over the past two weeks didn’t disappear Thursday at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Ryo Hisatsune continued his strong form in the opening round of the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, posting a bogey-free 10-under 62 to take an early lead in the season’s first commemorative event.
Hisatsune’s 62 represented the lowest round of his career on the PGA Tour and came in his tournament debut at Pebble Beach. His all-time low of 63 points came just last weekend at the WM Phoenix Open, where he finished in 10th place. The youngster from Japan hit a putt of more than 150 feet and chipped in on the par-4 16th for birdie, starting three consecutive runs toward the clubhouse.
His lead heading into Friday, when he plays at Spyglass Hill, is just one stroke ahead of American Sam Burns, who was also in good form en route to a 63 on the green. Keegan Bradley missed an opportunity on the final hole, missing out on a chance to tie the course record at Spyglass, and fell behind by the same number. Burns narrowly took the lead in strokes gained putting on Thursday, extending more than five strokes with a wand in hand. Hisatsune also cleared the green with five or more strokes.
“It’s always good to play bogey-free no matter where you’re playing, especially to be able to do it here,” Burns said. “It was good. I made a fair amount of putts and felt pretty good about it. I had a good combination today. The weather was perfect, so I was just trying to enjoy the day.”
Pebble Beach played almost four strokes under par in round one, while Spyglass Hill played about two strokes harder.
Conditions were perfect, but world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler once again struggled during the opening refrain. A week after starting the tournament with a 73, his first over-par round since June 2025, the four-time major champion signed with a 72, 10 strokes off the pace. It was the same score he faced after 18 holes at the WM Phoenix Open.
At Spyglass Hill, Bradley finished last with a great performance at 9 under. The latest American Ryder Cup captain seems to have found something, with Jordan Spieth showing signs of life with a bogey-free 66. Meanwhile, last year’s champion Rory McIlroy hit some speed bumps on the greens and opened his bid to defend his title by signing a 68 despite two double bogeys.
leader
1. Ryo Hisatsune (-10): Experience is starting to pile up for the 23-year-old. Hisatsune was in the final group at Torrey Pines on Sunday, finishing second to Justin Rose, and on Saturday at the WM Phoenix Open, he was in the final group alongside golfing hero Hideki Matsuyama for a top-10 finish. Playing with confidence, the right-hander was effective with his putter in the first round, making putts from 42 feet, 31 feet, 17 feet, 16 feet, 13 feet and 12 feet. He loves being on the Poa Anua putting surface, but said he needs to improve the way he hits the ball over the next 54 holes in order to continue his momentum to his first PGA Tour victory.
contestant
T2. Sam Barnes, Keegan Bradley (-9)
T4. Chris Gotterup, Tony Finau, Patrick Rodgers (-8)
T7. Nick Taylor, Akshay Bhatia, Andrew Novak, Tom Hoge (-7)
T11. Russell Henry, Jake Knapp, Jordan Spieth, Sepp Straka, Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Patrick Cantlay, Mackenzie Hughes (-6)
There are a lot of big names on pages one and two of the leaderboard, including Gotthard, who has already won twice this season, but it’s hard not to take note of what Spieth has accomplished in the Spyglass. Not only did he hole out for eagle on the par-4 ninth, but he maintained the momentum he had gained by going around the par-72 without dropping a shot. reason? Spieth’s putt from close range. Typically good at making one mistake from close range, Spieth stabilized inside 10 feet and added makes from 14 and 12 feet, the latter saving par on the final hole to maintain a bogey-free round.
“I thought I was really good on and around the greens,” Spieth said. “Actually, even though I thought I was swinging the club well, I didn’t really get on the green. I pulled out a couple of the wrong clubs. It’s easy to get out here. You pull a club that you thought would go well, but it doesn’t go anywhere here. So I have to be a little more strict about that decision-making, but when I got into trouble, I was able to get out of trouble.”
“Obviously, holed the wedge shot might have been the highlight of the day, but I really planned my way out. When I missed, I missed in the right place. I’d like to get a little tighter as I go around the pebble, but 6-under on the spyglass might be the best I’ve shot around here, so I’m very happy.”
Schaeffler’s struggle
For the second consecutive week, Scheffler will be looking to come back from a 10-stroke deficit in the final 54 holes of the tournament. Scheffler’s first round at Pebble Beach was more of a slow lead, though an otherwise smooth round at the WM Phoenix Open was overturned by an hour. He missed birdie opportunities from 8 feet on No. 1 and 2, but connected from that distance on No. 4 and returned it from 4 feet on No. 5. After nearly two on, a birdie on the par-5 sixth went on the scorecard, but it was his last birdie until the final hole of the day.
During that time, Scheffler continued to struggle with his putter — he missed a par putt from just under 3 feet on No. 12 — but his iron play was uncharacteristically poor. He lost about 2.50 strokes on his approach, ranking 73rd out of 80 players in his division, and was unable to consistently look away from the hole, which was unusual for his game.
2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am odds and picks updated
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
- Keegan Bradley: 8-1
- Chris Gottapp: 19/2
- Sam Burns: 10-1
- Ryo Hisatsune: 13-1
- Matt Fitzpatrick: 17 wins, 1 loss
- Rory McIlroy: 17-1
- Jake Knapp: 18-1
- Patrick Rodgers: 18-1
In case you’re wondering, Scheffler is 35-1, a far cry from his 3-1 mark at the start of the tournament. There’s no indication one way or the other, but 65 on Friday seems a sure thing. But McIlroy may end up being that guy. He left so many strokes on the green and still managed to beat his Spyglass average by several strokes. At least on Thursday, his return to the Blades seemed like a wise move.
