Rory McIlroy was left to rue two costly double putts as he lost six shots from an early lead at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler got off to a slow start.
McIlroy carded an eagle and six birdies during the first round of his title defense at Spyglass Hill, one of two courses used at the event, but made three-putt double bogeys on consecutive par-threes en route to a four-under 68.
The five-time major winner was ranked outside the top 70 in the 80-man field as he managed to overcome his twin setbacks, leaving him outside the top 25 in the standings as Rio Hisatsune set the pace.
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Rory McIlroy hits a bunker shot for eagle during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Hisatsune birdied each of his final three holes to close with a bogey-free 62 at Pebble Beach, with a birdie, an eagle and a par-four to finish the round.
Sam Burns and Keegan Bradley are tied for second with a bogey-free 63 after the day’s play, thanks to Burns’ famous 17-hole eagle to tie the score.
McIlroy – starting the back nine in benign conditions – uncorked back-to-back birdies and climbed out of the greenside bunker to birdie the par-five 13thbefore getting up and down the sand to grab a shot at the driving par-4 17thth to submit on the 31st.
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Rory McIlroy says the return of Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf is a big deal as he also talks about Scotty Scheffler and the players.
The world number two failed to capitalize on the par-five first but went from 15 feet at the next to six under, only to see his momentum abruptly halted by a three-putt double bogey from eight feet at the par-three third.
McIlroy responded with a stunning approach on the par-4 fourth, birdieing from close range but three-putting from five feet to claim another double bogey at the par-three fifth.
The Northern Irishman failed to convert good birdie looks at the seventh and eighth but found one on the par-four ninth, his final hole of the day, from 14 feet to finish a frustrating round strongly.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – FEBRUARY 07: Scotty Scheffler (USA) wins second place during the third round of the Vaste Management Phoenix Open on February 7, 2026 at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP
Scheffler, on the other hand, finished the day lower and out of contention after a frustrating triple 72 left the world No.1.
“I feel like I’m usually good at scoring and today I felt like I didn’t score at all,” Scheffler said.
“It was like everything that went wrong seemed to go that way and I felt like I scored a bad goal. I actually feel like I’m playing pretty well, (it was) just one of those days.”
“I guess the challenge (at Pebble Beach) makes a bunch of birdies. I’m looking at the leaderboard right now behind you and it looks like 7 under puts you in the top 10, so the scores are pretty low.”
“When you play later in the day, it can be hard to miss the pathos on these greens.”
Justin Rose finished the day with a 69, one behind fellow Briton Harry Hall. Sweden’s Ludwig Aberg, however, continued his early season struggles with a seven-bogey 75 in another round to forget.
Watch the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am all week live on Ski Sports. The live broadcast continues on Friday from 16.45 at Ski Sports Golf. Get Ski Sports or stream without a contract on NOW.