South Korea’s Y.E. Yang carded eight birdies as he shot a 64 Friday to take a three-stroke lead after one round of the PURE Insurance Championship in Monterey, Calif.
Starting in the early morning, Yang faced colder temperatures than he’s accustomed to, but he did express gratitude for avoiding the worst of any wind.
“Today is a little cold and windy, but I tried to send the green and not close to pin, and then after playing good, maybe 10, 12 feet birdie putt, and then I think today a lot of birdies, it’s good,” Yang said.
Yang, who started on the back nine of Pebble Beach Golf Links, got on a heater in the cold, recording four straight birdies across Holes 12-15, then sprinkled birdies on Holes 2, 5, 6 and 8 to close out his stellar 8-under-par round.
The 54-year-old finished in a tie for fifth at this tournament a year ago. He’s seeking his second career victory on the Champions Tour, previously winning the Ascension Charity Classic in 2024.
“Just good place,” Yang said of the event. “Sea and grass, everything good. Sometime weather a little cold, but it’s everything good, yeah.”
Also held on Spyglass Hill Golf Course, most of the best rounds were had at Pebble Beach, with three of the top four and 11 of the top 17 scorecards turned in at the latter.
Ryan Armour, also competing at Palm Beach, notched an eagle on his second hole of the day (11) and added five birdies against two bogeys to finish in second place at 5-under 67.
The eagle came after he opened with a bogey.
“You can’t have more down in the dumps to, ‘Oh, right, let’s go, we’re on the rollercoaster already.’ But then I got it going,” Armour said.
Tied for third at 4-under 68 are Tim O’Neal and South Africa’s Ernie Els.
Els opened with four straight birdies before cooling off, while O’Neal shook off a slow start to rally with four birdies and an eagle over his back nine.
“I have a problem with staying patient as it is, so I really have to tell myself just to stay patient, keep hitting good shots, eventually I’m going to start making some putts,” O’Neal said. “That’s all you can do. Just keep plugging along, not be too hard on myself.”
Five golfers are in a tie for fifth at 3 under: Sweden’s Henrick Stenson, Harrison Frazar, New Zealand’s Steven Alker, Canada’s Gordon Burns and Zach Johnson.
–Field Level Media
