On Thursday, February 9, 2012, Charlie Wi shot a 61 (9 under par) at the Monterrey Peninsula Shore Course, three shots ahead of Josh Teater’s 64, the second best round of the day. However, the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is played on three separate golf courses. While nobody was able to “go low” at Spyglass Hill Golf Course, Pebble Beach Golf Links (the most famous of the three) yielded 9 under par scores of 63 to both Danny Lee and Dustin Johnson, with Ken Duke and Brian Harman only one shot behind.
Dustin Johnson, currently #10 in the Official World Golf Rankings, has five career victories on the PGA Tour. Wi, Lee, Duke, and Harman have played in a combined total of more than 300 Tour events, without a single win between them, and are all ranked outside of the world’s top 150. Each of these four professionals are attempting to become the second consecutive first-time winner on the PGA Tour, following Kyle Stanley’s victory at last week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Charlie Wi
Charlie opened with four birdies and an eagle for a 28 on the first nine, then added three more birdies on the back to complete his bogey-free round. He needed only 22 total putts, and his excellent ball striking found 84% of the fairways and two-thirds of the greens in regulation. With more than 160 Tour events played, since his debut at the 2002 NEC Invitational, Charlie Wi has finished second four times. No need to feel too sorry for Charlie, as he has more then $7 Million in career earnings on the PGA Tour.
Danny Lee
21-year-old Danny Lee has played in 20 previous PGA Tour events, with one finish in the top ten. He is, however, the highest ranked among our four non-winners in the world golf rankings at #159. Danny also played bogey-free golf on Thursday, with five birdies and two eagles, on the way to his 9 under par score of 63 at Pebble Beach. Lee was consistent all day, hitting 83% of the greens, with nine hole scores of 31 and 32.
Ken Duke
Ranked 258th in the world, Ken had one birdie and one bogey in his first nine holes to be even par. He then experienced one of those golden moments in golf, when everything seems easy, recording six birdies and an eagle for a nearly perfect 28 on the back nine. Ken Duke has three second place finishes in 142 previous PGA Tour events played, and career earnings of more than $5 Million on the Tour.
Brian Harman
Brian has played in only seven previous events on the PGA Tour, never finishing in the top 50. Career earnings? Less than $25,000. Official World Golf Ranking? His name is not on the list. Harman closed out his opening round with two eagles and two birdies in the final eight holes, to shoot an 8 under par 64 at Pebble Beach Golf Links. We may or may not see Brian Harman’s name among the leaders after the second round, but this was certainly a day to be remembered.
While these four professional golfers have many differences in their backgrounds and style of play, they each share one common goal. Charlie Wi, Danny Lee, Ken Duke, and Brian Harman are all chasing their first career victory on the PGA Tour.
Harold Andrews has played golf (competitively and recreationally) for nearly 50 years and considers Jack Nicklaus the greatest golfer of all time.
source:
pgatour.com