Mickelson, Freddie Jacobson (69 at Spyglass Hill) and Chez Reavie (70 at Pebble Beach) were one shot to par behind at 10 under, while Justin Rose had a 68 at Monterey Peninsula and was at 9 under.
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Kang was joined on 11 under by Japan’s Hiroshi Iwata, who scorched to the turn in 30 at Pebble Beach before losing momentum on the inward half and settling for his second consecutive 66.
Four-time victor Phil Mickelson was also in good form as he shot six under to take his overall score to 10 under, despite two bogeys on the back nine of the Monterey Peninsula course that Kang had breezed through so well.
Day teed off on No. 10 at Spyglass and had three bogeys and two birdies in his first nine holes.
“I feel like I’m living a dream right now”. “I feel like I’m just matching up the line and the speed, and I’m making some”.
The Australian then converted a superb second to the 16th for an eagle and picked up another shot at 17, storming home in 31 to card a 66 and move within five strokes of the lead on six under.
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) – The back nine didn’t go according to plan for Phil Mickelson during the second round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and the par-3 14th hole at Monterey Peninsula served as the best illustration.
The 18-year-old South Korean-born New Zealander, defending her national title, sank a 20-foot put on the 18th hole for the fifth birdie of an opening round which also included two bogeys and left her within reach of the lead held by Norway’s Nicole Broch Larsen at Clearwater Golf Club. “One of my buddies came up and said, ‘You’re paired with Ray – he’s very famous, ‘ and I said, ‘Oh, really?’ I had to do some research on him, so I just Googled him”.
He needed to go 5-under-par his last 8 holes to achieve that magical number.
“I’ve never seen a demographic like that on a golf course where you’re sort of running the gauntlet from one tee to the other”.
“I drove the ball spectacular”, said the world’s No. 1-ranked player. I didn’t expect to play one over (par) coming in.
Cam Smith’s birdie barrage heads an inspired Aussie charge in the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. And playing alongside all-world entertainer Justin Timberlake, he should have plenty of company as he makes his way around this week’s host course for just the second time following his Wednesday practice round. Pebble Beach again played the toughest by a small margin over Spyglass Hill…. His ball striking was attractive, but the slower poa annua greens gave Spieth fits.
-After two teams halved all five holes of the 3M Celebrity Challenge on Wednesday, saxophonist Kenny G punched a shot to within two inches on the 18th green to win the chip-off that earned a $100,000 split between two designated charities, Food On Foot and OK Kids Korral.
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“Like an idiot, I switched drivers”, Mickelson said.
