Far removed from the false hopes Taylor Swift would make an appearance at Pebble Beach, Akshay Bhatia and Ryo Hisatsune went about their business quietly at Spyglass Hill and wound up with a share of the lead Friday in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am.
Bhatia was bogey-free over two days at Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill, both dry days with a mild breeze and soft greens that allowed for good scoring on both courses. He had six birdies and chipped in from 50 feet for eagle on the 14th hole on his way to a 64.
Hisatsune, who opened with a 62 at Pebble Beach, stumbled in the middle of his round with consecutive bogeys, which he offset with enough birdies (and one eagle) before and after for a 67.
They were at 15-under 129, the lowest 36-hole since the tournament moved to a two-course rotation in 2024 as a signature event.
The big speculation Friday was not so much the weather, but if Swift was going to show up to watch her fiancé, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, playing at Pebble Beach.
There was a big crowd. There was a big buzz. There was no Swift, who is said to be in town, but not on the golf course. She still led to a spike in ticket sales — $60,000 worth when Kelce was announced as part of the amateur field, $21,000 in the 12-hour window before he played Pebble.
There is no 36-hole cut at this signature event, except for Kelce, Pau Gasol, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the rest of the amateurs.
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Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
