TOM KITE

Patrick Cantlay follows his shot from the seventh tee of the Pebble Beach Golf Links during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, in Pebble Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Patrick Cantlay looked just as good Thursday at Pebble Beach as the last round he played 18 days ago. That tied the course record at Pebble Beach last matched 24 years ago by David Duval, and it gave Cantlay a two-shot lead in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Bhatia hit all 18 of the small greens at Pebble Beach, the first player to do that at Pebble since Ryan Palmer in 2008. AdIt helped being at Pebble Beach, typically the easiest course when the weather is dry and relatively calm. The AT&T Pebble Beach and Honda Classic offered him exemptions.

Johnson grew up about an hour away in South Carolina, and the Masters is the one major every Southern kid dreams about winning. Johnson already had become owner of a label not talked about enough: The best player to have only one major. He went from a 12-foot eagle putt for the win to a three-putt par to finish one shot behind. And then he delivered the key shot, an 8-iron down the slope to a pin tucked on the corner shelf. It will be the shortest time any Masters champion gets to keep the green jacket with him.