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Jan 30, 2025 6:58 pm

Russell Henley leads, Rory McIlroy hits ace at Pebble Beach Pro-Am

russell henley

Rory McIlroy made a hole-in-one in his PGA Tour season debut, but Russell Henley sat atop the leaderboard after a low-scoring first day at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Thursday in Pebble Beach, Calif.

Henley fired an 8-under-par 64 with nine birdies at Spyglass Hill Golf Course to eke in front of the pack.

The 80-man field at the second signature event of the season is playing one round apiece at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill before spending Saturday and Sunday at Pebble Beach.

Six players are tied at 7-under 65: Viktor Hovland of Norway, Justin Rose of England, Cam Davis of Australia and Jake Knapp, who played Pebble Beach on Thursday, and Austria’s Sepp Straka and Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard, who began the tournament at Spyglass.

McIlroy also opened the week at Spyglass and turned in a bogey-free, 6-under 66, buoyed by his ace at the par-3 15th hole. Playing downhill and just 119 yards, the four-time major champ from Northern Ireland flew a wedge shot into the green and his ball could be heard hitting the flagstick before disappearing into the hole without a bounce.

It was McIlroy’s second career hole-in-one on the PGA Tour. He added birdies on three of his final four holes to get to 6 under.

Also carding a hole-in-one Thursday: Ireland’s Shane Lowry, who aced the famed seventh hole at Pebble Beach. His tee shot took two hops on the green before rolling directly in the cup.

Lowry joined McIlroy at 6 under, part of a seven-way tie that also featured Justin Thomas (Spyglass) and Patrick Cantlay (Pebble).

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler opened his 2025 season with a 5-under 67 at Spyglass Hill. He was sidelined for about four weeks after injuring his hand while cooking over the holidays.

Last year’s champion, Wyndham Clark, opened with a 2-over 74 at Pebble Beach. Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, last year’s runner-up, is in dead last at 5-over 77 (Spyglass).

–Field Level Media

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