The Starter: Round 2, AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

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Feb. 12, 2010

The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is set to begin. Here's a look at Friday's round:

Groups We're Watching
Tee time Players  
11:11 a.m. ET,
Spyglass Hill, No. 10
Vijay Singh, Steve Marino
People forget that Vijay lost in a playoff here just two years ago. His opening 65 at Monterey was a welcome sight for the 46-year-old.
12:50 p.m. ET,
Spyglass Hill, No. 1
Stuart Appleby, Charley Hoffman
Hoffman's 64 at the Shore Course Thursday came despite burning through 29 putts. Spyglass will be a much tougher test on Friday.
12:06 p.m. ET,
Monterey Peninsula, No. 10
Dustin Johnson, D.J. Trahan
Johnson gets his first crack at the short Shore Course, which was added back to the AT&T rotation after the 2009 season.

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR NETWORK on-site correspondent Mark Carnevale previews Friday's second round:

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If you could have picked a nicer day for golf at Pebble Beach Golf Links, it would be hard to do. Normally, conditions are dicey at best, but the first round proved that good things do happen to those that wait.

Friday's forecast

Morning showers
Temp: 63 high/47 low
Rain early. Light winds.

With a possibility of bad weather coming in for the second round, do not be surprised that the players who played Pebble Beach first continue to be at the top of the leaderboard after the second round. I would doubt there will be two rounds of 65 at Pebble Beach in Round 2.

I observed in the first round that K.J. Choi had switched from the big round putter grip he had used for the past couple of years to the standard size.

K.J. had a down year in 2009, but he finished last week's Northern Trust Open with a 65 to tie for 27th. Look for K.J. to play well in Round 2. His bogey-free round of 65 during the first will propel him to success this week. He may not win, but he will contend.

INSTRUCTOR'S CORNER: Steve Voguit, head instructor at the TOUR Academy at World Golf Village, analyzes the playing conditions this week.

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The first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is in the books. The players took advantage of the excellent playing conditions at all three courses today, with the lowest scores being posted on both the Pebble Beach Golf Links and Monterey Peninsula Country Club.

As expected, Spyglass Hill played several shots tougher, where David Duval went low and placed himself a few back of the lead with a stellar round of 5 under. Spyglass Hill will consistently prove to be the most difficult course of the week. To answer why this is, let's look at some of the challenges it poses to the players.

Course designer Robert Trent Jones Sr. had a wily attitude in his design, creating one of the most difficult courses in the world. One tool used to create this difficulty is the strategically placed bunkers, found primarily on the final 13 holes of the course. For a TOUR player, a bunker is a friendly place, however, for the average golfer, it is not.

Follow these steps and soon you will have as much confidence in the bunkers as a pro: First, open your club face and stance slightly. Second, position the ball forward in your stance. Lastly, pick a spot roughly two inches behind the ball and make a very steep swing along your stance line.

The Film Room
PGA TOUR Today
John Swantek previews the second round of the 2010 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and Bob Stevens provides an update on the conditions. Watch it
Round 1 highlights
Dustin Johnson took advantage of perfect conditions to blaze his way to a 64 at Pebble Beach; celebrities hit the links. Watch it
Shot of the Day: Holmes
J.B. Holmes holed out for eagle on the par-4 8th hole at Pebble. Watch it
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