Brent Schwarzrock played his final eight holes in 8 under par and finished with a 64 Thursday, giving him a two-stroke lead at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in Pebble Beach, Calif.
Schwarzrock’s 28 on the front nine tied the record at Pebble Beach, last set a year ago by Davis Love III, his mentor on the PGA Tour.
“I want to pick up tomorrow where I left off today,” Schwarzrock said.
Matt Gogel, who blew a seven-stroke lead over Tiger Woods two years ago, shot a 66 at Pebble Beach. He was joined by qualifying-school winner Pat Perez, who got his 66 at Poppy Hills.
Woods used a Nike driver for the first time in competition, but what he really needed was a chainsaw. Trees cost him a chance at three birdies on the par 5s at Poppy Hills, and Woods kept alive his streak of never breaking 70 on Poppy.
He was 4 under through seven holes but finished with a 70.
“That’s great for me around this golf course,” he said.
– Greg Norman, winless in Australia in nearly four years, shot a 5-under-par 67 Friday for a share of the lead at the Heineken Classic in Melbourne. Norman, five strokes behind South Africa’s Ernie Els after the first round, was at 8 under along with Els and Wales’ Mark Pilkington, who were midway through their rounds.
– U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen tied the Lost City course record with a 9-under 63 in the first round of a pro-am in Sun City, South Africa.
