PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Chris Gotterup extended his streak to nine straight birdies over two rounds on two very different courses. He ultimately settled for an 8-under 64 on Thursday in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, leaving him two behind Ryo Hisatsune on a day of gorgeous weather and low scores for practically everyone.
Scottie Scheffler was the exception. He had to birdie the par-5 18th at Pebble Beach to avoid joining the short list — 12 players — who failed to break par.
''I feel like typically I'm good at scoring, and today I felt like I didn't score at all,'' Scheffler said. ''Anything that kind of went wrong seemed to be going that direction. I actually feel like I'm playing pretty well. Just one of those days.''
Hisatsune, coming off two good weeks including a runner-up at Torrey Pines to qualify for this $20 million signature event, had three straight birdies early in his round, made the only birdie on the par-4 ninth and finished with three straight for a 62 at Pebble Beach.
He was one shot ahead of Keegan Bradley and Sam Burns. Bradley played at Spyglass Hill, where the course average was about one-and-a-half shots higher that Pebble Beach.
Defending champion Rory McIlroy, in his first PGA Tour start of the year, had a pair of three-putt double bogeys on the par 5s at Spyglass that caused him to settle for a 68.
Gotterup, who already has two wins this year, made three straight birdies to finish off his victory in the Phoenix Open last week, the last one in a playoff. From desert warmth to the California coastal chill, from carpet greens to poa annua, there was no change in his game.
A short birdie putt on No. 1, a 10-footer on the par-5 second, nearly jarring a wedge on the third, and on it went. Six holes into the round, he had six birdies.