Rumors of rust were greatly exaggerated. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler looked much like the world No. 1 on Thursday at the 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as he effectively navigated his way through Spyglass Hill en route to a 5-under 67 in his first round of the PGA Tour season. Scheffler sits only three strokes off the early lead set by his Presidents Cup teammate, Russell Henley, who also played Spyglass Hill in Round 1.

Players will rotate golf courses Friday before taking to Pebble Beach for the final two rounds. On Thursday, Pebble Beach played about four strokes under par while Spyglass Hill proved to be nearly two strokes more difficult. That bodes well for Henley, Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, who all shot 5 under or better at Spyglass Hill in the first round.

Beginning his day with a missed fairway, a missed green in regulation and a failed up-and-down, Scheffler showed golf fans something he has not in quite sometime — a crack in his armor, though a puncture wound in his right hand would be more literal. He sured up any doubt almost immediately, however, as Scheffler has done the past handful of years.

Tacking on his first birdie of the new year on the his fifth hole, the par-5 14th, Scheffler penciled another circle onto his scorecard before the inward half to make the turn in under-par fashion. Finding his groove, the three-time reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year began to see his golf ball dancing around the hole.

Four birdies in a six-hole stretch allowed Scheffler’s name to surge up the leaderboard and into the top 10 at 5 under. Signing for that exact score, Scheffler remained in that position until late in the day when the final finishers eked out a few more birdies. Still, his presence remains — not only on the leaderboard but in the minds of those ahead him after just his first round of the season.

The leaders

1. Russell Henley (-8)
T2. Viktor Hovland, Jake Knapp, Justin Rose, Cam Davis, Sepp Straka, Rasmus Højgaard (-7)

“I suck at it [golf],” Hovland said Wednesday in his pre-tournament press conference. Less than 24 hours later, he finds himself near the top of the leaderboard at the place where he won his U.S. Amateur title. Hovland has done something like this before as he revealed that he nearly pulled his name out of this past year’s PGA Championship given how bad he was hitting the golf ball at the time. He only went onto finish in third place that week.

The Norwegian missed two fairways and two greens in regulation on Thursday at a golf course with some of the smallest greens on the PGA Tour. Playing without the burden of expectations, Hovland has his ball striking in order through 18 holes. If it lasts the next 54 holes, he could return to the winner’s circle.

Other contenders

T8. Eric Cole, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Lee Hodges, Patrick Cantlay, Shane Lowry, Lucas Glover (-6)
T15. Scottie Scheffler, Sam Stevens, Austin Eckroat, Taylor Pendrith, Si Woo Kim, Erik Van Rooyen, Sahith Theegala, Tony Finau (-5)

On paper, Spyglass Hill probably isn’t the golf course McIlroy would pick for his style of play. Sometimes taking the driver out of hands and forcing players to hit more wedge shots, the course was conquered Thursday by the four-time major champion. McIlroy led those on Spyglass Hill in strokes gained tee to green, ranked second in strokes gained off the tee and finished inside the top 10 on approach. The bulk of the positive approach play came courtesy of his wedge play highlighted by his hole-in-one on the par-3 15th.

“I looked at stats. We talk about it a lot,” McIlroy said regarding his emphasis on shots inside 150 yards. “In the past, I haven’t been as confident with the wedges from that distance; I would play a little right or left of the pins and be a little more careful with my aim points. Where now, if I’m feeling confident with my wedge swings and where I’m at with that, it’s easier for me to take dead aim and try to hit it as close as possible.”

What’s up with Jordan Spieth?

Not only did Scheffler and McIlroy make their season debuts on Thursday, so did Spieth. The 2017 tournament winner got off to a beautiful start as he made three birdies across a five-hole stretch on his front nine and pushed his name inside the top 10 momentarily. He unfortunately backtracked on the back nine with a couple bogeys against just one birdie to sign for a 70, but there were some positive signs in Spieth’s game. The 31-year-old putted well on Thursday and scrambled effectively at times. The ball striking will need to improve, but it is still early days for a man who hasn’t played since August.

Luck of the Irish

There is going to be a big bar tab tonight. Not only did McIlroy make an ace on the par-3 15th at Spyglass Hill, his good friend Lowry did as well. Wielding a wedge on the famous par-3 7th at Pebble Beach, the Irishman connected on the third hole-in-one of his PGA Tour career. 

Where were the other two, you may ask? Well, those came at the par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass and the par-3 16th at Augusta National. There may be no man with a better trio of aces in golf, let alone on the PGA Tour.

2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am updated odds, picks

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

• Scottie Scheffler: 7/2
• Rory McIlroy: 11/2
• Justin Thomas: 7-1
• Russell Henley: 9-1
• Sepp Straka: 12-1
• Rasmus Højgaard: 12-1
• Patrick Cantlay: 18-1
• Viktor Hovland: 22-1
• Collin Morikawa: 28-1

It is clear those who get to play Pebble Beach on Friday hold an advantage as Hovland and Cantlay are the only two among those listed scheduled to play Spyglass Hill in Round 2. Taking this into account, someone like Maverick McNealy at 4 under and 50-1 may be an appealing option. The local kid went around Spyglass in a bogey-free fashion on Thursday, didn’t necessarily squeeze the most out of his round and gets the easier Pebble Beach on Friday.