By Jeremy Harness

photo credit: AFP photo–Chez Reavie takes a shot from the fairway 12th hole during the first round at the AT&T Pro Am

PEBBLE BEACH – Most people who come to this year’s tournament will be tempted to follow the likes of Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson as well as celebrities such as Mark Wahlberg and Bill Murray. However, it was a relatively unknown who surged to the top on Thursday.

Chez Reavie, who has had marginal success on the PGA Tour in recent years, ripped apart the back nine at Monterey Peninsula Country Club in the opening round, shooting seven under par on the final nine holes on his way to an eight-under 63 to take a one-shot lead.

He was one under par at the turn after bogeying the par-3 ninth, but he quickly turned it on and never cooled off. He ran off four birdies in a row before settling for a par at the 14^th.

Reavie then picked things right up with a birdie at the 15^th and then followed that right up with an eagle at the par-5 16^th before parring the remaining two holes to the lead.

“I had a lot of good looks on the front nine and missed a couple of (putts),” said Reavie, who played part of last season on the PGA Tour and then lost his full playing status before getting it back by winning a Web.com Tour finals event and then nearly winning the Tour Championship. “(I) hit good putts and just stayed patient and was able to make the putts on the back.”

Of the three courses that this tournament is played on – Monterey Peninsula, Pebble Beach, and Spyglass Hill – Monterey Peninsula is the one that players tend to get their low scores, and that trend continued on Thursday.

Cameron Smith and Bronson Burgoon, both rookies on the PGA Tour, each fired a seven-under 64 at Monterey Peninsula to tie for second. Smith got off to a hot start to his day, birdieing four of the first six holes on his way to a five-under front nine. He recorded two birdies on the back nine and did not have a single bogey on his scorecard.

“It was really good today,” Smith said. “I got some putts rolling in from the start, which got me on a good momentum booster for the first 12 or 13 holes, which was nice.”

Burgoon got off to the best start of them all. Starting on the 10^th hole, he blistered his front nine to the tune of a seven-under 30 to shoot his 64, including an eagle at the 16^th, and then parring out on the back nine.

“I got off to a good start and just kept rolling,” Burgoon said. “I wouldn’t say I slowed down on the back, but (I) missed a couple putts, but that’s golf. I gave myself opportunities on the back nine, (but) I just didn’t make anything.”

Meanwhile, Spieth did not play up to his standards on the first day. Playing at Spyglass Hill, he bogeyed the fourth hole before recording birdies on the fifth as well as the eighth and seemed to be on his way to the top of the leaderboard.

However, he just could not seem to break through on the back nine, as he countered two birdies with a pair of bogeys to finish with a one-under 71.

“(It was) just kind of a bit odd,” Spieth said. “I just was not quite dialed in with the wedges or short game, so (I am) a little frustrated with that.

“But I’ve got a lot of very easy golf holes coming in the next couple days if I put myself in positions off the tees, and I’ll certainly get better when it comes to the wedge play.”