Schwarzrock takes two shot advantage

Brent Schwarzrock was chatting with some buddies about how sweet it would be to play Pebble Beach on a calm, sunny day.

He was in for a treat beyond his wildest dreams Thursday.

Schwarzrock matched a spectacular day on the Monterey Peninsula with the best golf of his career, playing his final eight holes in 8-under par for a 64 that gave him a two-stroke lead in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the largest first-round margin in 24 years.

``It was an awesome day,'' he said. ``What more could you ask for?''

Tiger Woods could have done without the trees. He used a Nike driver for the first time in competition, but what he really needed was a chainsaw to escape pine trees that cost him a chance at three birdies and led to a bogey in his round of 70 at Poppy Hills.

Phil Mickelson (74) and defending champion Davis Love III (76) could have asked for a better start at Spyglass Hill.

Jeff Julian isn't asking for anything. The 40-year-old player with Lou Gehrig's disease only wanted a chance to compete. He opened with a birdie on No. 10 at Pebble, but closed with a two bogeys and a double bogey for a 77.

Schwarzrock also started on No. 10 and was still even par for the day when he reached the par-5 second hole.

``I just started hitting the shots like I wanted to hit them,'' he said.

Simple enough. He hit his 4-iron into 6 feet for eagle, added birdies on the next two holes and finished off his round with four straight birdies to play the front in 28.

That tied the nine-hole matk at Pebble, and it was only fitting that it was last set a year ago by Love -- Schwarzrock's mentor on the PGA Tour and his neighbor on Sea Island, Ga.

``I want to pick up tomorrow where I left off today,'' Schwarzrock said.

Matt Gogel, who squandered a seven-stroke lead over Woods two years ago, put himself in position for another chance with a 66 at Pebble Beach. He was joined by Q-school winner Pat Perez, who got his 66 at Poppy Hills.

Woods was 4 under through seven holes until he found the first of four trees on the 18th, leading to a bogey and a loss of momentum. Poppy Hills figures to be the easiest course for Woods because it has five par 5s, but he has never broken 70 there.

``That's great for me around this golf course,'' he said.

Schwarzrock posted the same score as Love on the front nine, but there were plenty of differences.

Love's record round came on the final day, and it enabled him to make up a seven-stroke deficit by closing with a 63 to win the tournament.

Schwarzrock started out on No. 10 -- and it's only the first round.

Still, not a bad start for a 29-year-old player whose season was cut short a year ago when he broke his right elbow after posting his best career finish.

Schwarzrock looks more like a linebacker than a PGA Tour player at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds. He tied for eighth in Vancouver last year, and was on his way to the next stop when he learned he broke his elbow -- and he's still not sure how.

While he made it through Q-school again, Schwarzrock needs to earn $84,016 in his first nine tournaments this year to improve his chances of getting into the top tour events.

A 64 on Pebble Beach should get him pointed in that direction.

It started with the 4-iron form 224 yards into the par-5 second hole for an eagle. Schwarzrock birdied the next two holes, then reached the par-5 sixth with a 5-iron up the steep hill for a two-putt birdie.

He rolled one in from 25 feet down the hill on the picturesque par-3 seventh, hit 6-iron from 183 yards into 18 feet on No. 8 and got a break when he leaked a drive on his final hole, but not enough to go over the cliffs. He squeezed another birdie out of that from 15 feet to wind up in the record books -- right there with Love.

``My caddie was seeing the line, so we just mashed it up,'' Schwarzrock said. ``It was pretty fun.''

Despite a 45-minute frost delay -- nothing compared to the six-hour rounds -- the opening round of the tournament renowned for bad weather could not have been better. Sunshine bathed the Monterey Peninsula, with the temperature climbing close to 60.

Plus, there was only a trace of breeze, and the scores reflected the pristine conditions.

Jesper Parnevik had a 67 on Spyglass Hill, considered the toughest of the three courses in the rotation.

Lee Janzen and Matt Kuchar were among those at 68. Vijay Singh, who has had a chance to win the last two tournaments at Pebble, was at 69.

Woods moves to Spyglass on Friday, and not a moment too soon. He had a 73 in his previous two rounds at Poppy Hill and figured to put an end to that dubious streak when he birdied three straight holes to get to 4 under through seven holes.

His approach on the par-5 18th was headed right at the flag until it hit a towering pine, kicked back into a small forest and left him no chance of getting it close. He pitched through the green and couldn't get up-and-down for par.

``Am I ever going to get a break on this course?'' he asked himself at one point.

Not on Thursday -- everything was rolling Schwarzrock's direction.

Divots

Because of the possibility of rain over the next three days, players were allowed to lift, clean and place their balls in the short grass on Poppy Hills and Spyglass Hill, but not on Pebble Beach, which is on slightly higher ground. ... One spectator wore a mask of Tiger Woods, complete with a huge smile. ``My teeth are NOT that big,'' Woods muttered to himself when he saw it. ... Mark O'Meara played with a sore neck, and started out with two bogeys and a double bogey when he hit his drive out of bounds. He played 1 under the rest ofthe way for a 75.

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