PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Tiger Woods will not be playing the Honda Classic next week.

The decision was not a surprise. Woods said last week his game was not acceptable for tournament golf and that he would not play again until he felt like it was. His agent confirmed in an email that he would not be playing the Honda Classic.

Woods has played only two tournaments this year. He had a career-high 82 in the Phoenix Open and missed the cut by 12 shots. The following week at Torrey Pines, he withdrew after 11 holes because of tightness in his back.

Woods said that was not related to back surgery he had last spring.

Woods is No. 66 in the world and will not be eligible for the World Golf Championship at Doral.

LOS ANGELES – This much can be said about a six-way tie for the lead after the opening round at the Northern Trust Open.

At least it was Thursday and not Sunday.

Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen, a decade ago among the top five players in the world, were together again at the top of the leaderboard after each posted a 5-under 66 while playing in the same group. The 51-year-old Singh hasn’t won since 2008. Goosen, who turned 46 earlier this month, hasn’t won since 2009.

They were joined by Pebble Beach runner-up Nick Watney, Daniel Summerhays, James Hahn and Derek Fathauer.

The real star, as usual, was Riviera.

The fabled course off Sunset Boulevard remains such an interesting test that on a day when an overcast sky gave way to sunshine, with barely enough wind to move leaves on the eucalyptus trees, no one could do better than 66 and the average score was just under 73.

“There were no easy shots,” Dustin Johnson after a hard-earned 70.

That explains why no one could get too far ahead, and that’s not unusual.

And yes, there was a six-way tie on Sunday one year. That was in 2001, when Robert Allenby ended a six-man playoff quickly with a 3-wood to 5 feet on the 18th hole in a cold rain, a magnificent shot that was worthy of a plaque in the fairway. All he got was the first-place check, and when the Australian returned the following year to register as the defending champion, the woman behind the desk didn’t recognize him. She probably would now.

Just three years ago, nine players were tied for the lead after the opening round.

“They are just quality holes out there,” Geoff Ogilvy said after a 68. “It’s an incredible bunch of holes on not an amazing piece of land, really, compared it to a lot of other great courses. Cool and interesting stuff – uphill, downhill, you have to move the ball both ways, awkward angles. It’s just a great golf course, really. And it’s immaculate this year. Nobody likes the drought in California, but it’s good for a course like this to dry out a little bit.

“When golf courses are stressed, they actually play their best,” he said. “And it’s getting really close to that level.”

Singh and Goosen know a thing or two about droughts.

Singh, a three-time major champion in the Hall of Fame, won the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2008 to effectively wrap up the FedEx Cup title, and he hasn’t won since then. About the only news he has made in the last couple of years is the lawsuit against the PGA Tour over its anti-doping policy.

He moved into a share of the lead with a 35-footer from just off the 15th green, followed by a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th hole. He finished strong except for missing a pair of birdie putts inside 12 feet.

“I’m finally not hurting as much as I did the last five years,” Singh said. “That’s a big part of playing good golf. You’re not hurting, you can go out and play and you’re comfortable. Right now, nothing hurts. The golf swing feels good, and I’m happy to be playing.”

Goosen won a pair of U.S. Open titles more than a decade ago, but his last victory was in 2009 at Innisbrook in Florida.

Both now are outside the top 200 in the world ranking. They played with 28-year-old Brian Harman, who shot 78.

“It was nice to see the two old boys play pretty good,” Goosen said.

Three players failed to break 80. One of them was Scott Piercy, who became this year’s face of the par-4 10th hole. He began his round by going from the front bunker to the back bunker to the front bunker to the back bunker before a great putt for double bogey.

Carlos Ortiz of Mexico, who had a 67, summed up the 312-yard hole this way: “I’ve never seen a par 4 that short that hard.”

Defending champion Bubba Watson ended his streak of 43 consecutive holes without a bogey at Riviera when he hit into the trees to the right of the fifth fairway. He did enough right for a 70, a respectable start. He even made a birdie on the 10th hole, which sounded like an accident.

“As we can see throughout the years, that hole is very, very difficult, and par is a great score there,” Watson said. “It might just be because I’m so scared to death of the hole.”

Ogilvy and Justin Thomas were among those at 68, while Jordan Spieth rallied for a 69 with a 31 on his front nine.

Graham DeLaet leads a field of five Canadians following an opening-round 1-under 70 for a share of 16th-place. Adam Hadwin sits T68 at 2-over.

Darren Clarke provided arguably the most emotional story line in the history of the Ryder Cup, and helped forge one of the competition’s most successful partnerships.

And to mark the start of the next chapter in the charismatic, cigar-chomping Northern Irishman’s Ryder Cup story, he was picked as captain of the European team for the 2016 event at Hazeltine.

Overwhelming player support and healthy respect for him on both sides of the Atlantic made Clarke a unanimous choice on Wednesday.

The five-man selection panel included Europe’s last three captains – Colin Montgomerie, Jose Maria Olazabal and Paul McGinley. All three guided the team to victory, in very different ways, to give Clarke a hard act to follow.

“I have big shoes to fill,” said Clarke, the British Open champion in 2011 and one of the most popular figures in golf.

Clarke played for Europe in five straight Ryder Cups from 1997-2006, winning four times. The last of these came at The K Club, where he helped the team to a record-equaling 18 1/2-9 1/2 victory over the United States just six weeks after his first wife, Heather, died following a long battle with breast cancer. Playing through grief, he won all three of his matches.

Clarke was a non-playing vice captain under Montgomerie in 2010 and Olazabal in ’12, which groomed him for the top job.

“The Ryder Cup has been a massive part of my life and my career, so to have the chance to lead Europe next year is a huge honor,” said the silver-haired Clarke, the first Northern Irishman to be given the captaincy.

Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain and Thomas Bjorn of Denmark were also candidates for the role but Clarke was always the big favorite and ended up being the unanimous choice, Montgomerie said.

“I think he’ll be a very good communicator, which is most important as a captain,” Montgomerie said. “He has the respect of the players – that’s a given as Open champion – and his record in the Ryder Cup is very good.”

Clarke has won 11 1/2 points for Europe, with six points from eight matches alongside Lee Westwood putting them joint-second in the all-time list of most successful Ryder Cup combinations.

Top-ranked Rory McIlroy and recent stalwarts of the European team like Ian Poulter, Justin Rose and Graeme McDowell had given their backing to Clarke.

“That, to a large extent, crystallized my view on where the captaincy should go,” McGinley said. “It’s quite clear Darren got a lot of support.”

Clarke said he would be “foolish” not to follow the same formula as McGinley, who created a great camaraderie in the European team as it swept to a 16 1/2-11 1/2 victory at Gleneagles in September.

While the Americans created a task force in the wake of a sixth loss in the last seven editions of the Ryder Cup, all Europe had to do was put someone in place to take forward the template of success. Clarke is unlikely to be revolutionary in his approach to Hazeltine.

“With the team bonding and team spirit in Gleneagles, it’s something I’ll want to replicate,” Clarke said.

Clarke is popular in the United States and seems suited to be Europe’s captain for a Ryder Cup on American soil. Aside from winning the Open, the biggest victory of his career came in the U.S. when he beat Tiger Woods in the final of the WGC-Matchplay Championship in 2000.

The Associated Press reported Monday that Davis Love III would be the captain of the U.S. team, and is to be introduced on Tuesday. Love and Clarke are close friends.

“That would be wonderful,” Clarke said of coming up against Love. “He’s a gentleman and there isn’t a nicer man in our sport.”

Clarke said he will likely go for five vice-captains, as McGinley did. McGinley, though, said he would not accept the role if asked.

LOS ANGELES – Davis Love III is getting another shot as U.S. captain in the Ryder Cup.

Two people familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Monday night that the PGA of America has selected Love as captain for the 2016 matches at Hazeltine. They spoke on condition of anonymity because it has not been announced.

Golf Channel first reported that Love will be the next captain.

He is to be introduced on Feb. 24, when the Honda Classic is held at PGA headquarters in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Love led the Americans to a 10-6 lead at Medinah in 2012 until Ian Poulter and Europe staged an improbable rally and matched the greatest comeback in Ryder Cup history.

This will be the second straight Ryder Cup that the U.S. gets a repeat captain, and it didn’t go so well the previous time. Tom Watson, at 65, was the oldest Ryder Cup captain and returned after a 21-year absence.

But he was out of touch with his team, made a questionable captain’s pick with Webb Simpson and benched Phil Mickelson for both sessions on Saturday. Europe won for the third straight time, extending its dominance.

The Americans appeared to be in disarray all week, and it spilled over into the closing news conference when Mickelson heaped praise on Paul Azinger’s winning formula in 2008 and asked why the PGA of America went away from that. With Watson sitting at the table, Mickelson said the captain never took any input from the players.

Out of that mess, the PGA of America organized a task force of players and former captains to build some continuity and tradition, similar to what Europe has done. Out of those task force meetings – the second and most recent one was at Torrey Pines two weeks ago – the PGA decided its best bet was with Love.

Azinger was mentioned as a possible candidate, and Fred Couples had the support of key players. It was not immediately clear if they were considered, or if Azinger wanted the job again. Azinger turned down an offer to be on the task force. Couples won all three times he was captain of the Presidents Cup.

Europe is expected to announce Darren Clarke as its captain. Love and Clarke are close friends.

The Americans have won the Ryder Cup only one time in the past seven tries.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Brandt Snedeker finds something that works and sticks with it.

He picked up a putter in 2005 on the Nationwide Tour and it has been with him since, except for a short separation last summer when the putts stopped falling. Snedeker, like most golfers, felt as if he needed to teach it a lesson and try something new. Actually, he wanted to teach “her” a lesson. And how did he choose the gender?

“She’s done pretty well over the last nine years, so I feel like it’s a marriage at this point,” he said.

His driver is made by a company that seems to promote something new every other month, and yet Snedeker is still using one made in 2010. In this era of technology, that practically makes it a relic. And those irons? He’s been using those since before Jordan Spieth came out on tour.

The equipment editor for Golf Digest figured out the resale value for the putter and the driver combined would be $34.

“That wouldn’t shock me,” Snedeker said. “If you see any more, I’m willing to buy them for that.”

That shouldn’t be a problem for Snedeker, who used them all quite handily and set the tournament scoring record for the second time in three years when he won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Sunday. The victory was worth just over $1.2 million.

It was valuable in so many other ways.

For starters, it made him relevant again, a term Snedeker used when he realized at the start of the year he was no longer eligible for the events that attract the world’s best players. The seventh career victory got him into the Masters and the PGA Championship, and by moving up to a No. 31 world ranking, he can count on the four World Golf Championships, along with starting next year in Kapalua.

More than that, however, it justified a decision last summer to get away from something that had been working well.

He changed coaches.

Snedeker had been with Todd Anderson since the end of 2005 – about as long as he’s had that putter – and he won six PGA Tour events and over $20 million in earnings, which doesn’t include the $10 million bonus from his FedEx Cup title in 2012 right before he played in his first Ryder Cup. Golf can get stale, however, and it was a big move for Snedeker to seek out Butch Harmon a week before the U.S. Open.

“A class act,” Harmon said Sunday night. “It’s fun working with him. He has a quick wit, which fits with me. And he works hard. He was really good at one time and he got lost. I helped him find his way. Sometimes it’s more than just the X’s and O’s of the swing.”

Results were far from immediate. Snedeker had his worst year on tour and for the first time didn’t make it beyond the second FedEx Cup playoff event. Tom Watson wanted him on the Ryder Cup team for his putting, but Snedeker played his way out of the conversation.

But he kept working away, never losing hope he would turn it around. The payoff was a week at Pebble Beach that was close to perfect, and not just the weather. Snedeker made one bogey in 72 holes. When he wasn’t at his best, he figured out how to manage.

“He did a great job of helping me understand how I swing the golf club, what I need to do to be successful,” Snedeker said. “The great thing about Butch is he’s not technical at all. He instills confidence in you when you don’t even realize he’s doing it. We might have a three-hour practice session and he might say one thing about my swing and 15 things about the mental side of it, what you should be thinking in certain situations.”

Harmon treated Snedeker like any other of his clients. There were a few technical issues – his swing was getting out of position and too long at the top – but the goal was for Snedeker to understand the swing and how to fix it.

The other message from Harmon was to develop a safe shot when the swing doesn’t feel right. For Snedeker, that was teeing the ball lower and getting on top of the ball sooner, a shot that helped him on the back nine when he seized control and wanted to keep it.

Harmon loves the old-school work ethic of Snedeker. He also loves the refreshing pace with which he plays the game. Snedeker talks fast and walks even faster. He gives his hips a quick swivel as he sets up over the ball – maybe that activates his glutes – and pulls the trigger. Standing over putts, he keeps his eye on the hole as he takes five or six short, repetitive practice strokes, and then he steps over the ball and gives it a pop.

That part about him never seems to change. And it appears to be working again.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – The fog began to roll in off the coast of Pebble Beach, though it didn’t matter. Brandt Snedeker had the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in hand, and he had a clear view of where he was going.

There is no better wait than on the 18th tee at Pebble Beach. For Snedeker, there was no better feeling than walking up the famous closing hole with a four-shot lead, his ball in the middle of the fairway and a big reward for a lot of hard work and hard times.

A conservative par gave him a 5-under 67 and a three-shot victory Sunday, and it brought a renewed sense of direction.

“I think I’m relevant again,” Snedeker said after his second win at Pebble Beach in three years.

For the first time in more than three years, Snedeker fell out of the top 50 in the world at the end of last year after his worst season on the PGA Tour. He wasn’t in the Masters or any of the World Golf Championships. He already was making plans to play new tournaments. He was going to play every week until the Masters to give himself every chance to secure another tee time at Augusta National.

All that changed in one week that was close to perfect.

Snedeker made only one bogey over 72 holes on three golf courses, and it still gnawed at him even as he left the room with a crystal trophy. He didn’t have a three-putt, no small feat on poa annua greens played on by 156 players and 156 amateurs over three days.

He’s in the Masters. By moving up to No. 31 in the world, he can count on all four World Golf Championships. He’s also in the PGA Championship (he already was eligible for the U.S. Open based on his top 10 at Pinehurst No. 2 last year). Snedeker was irritated at the thought the world best players might gather without him.

He didn’t like being Mr. Irrelevant.

“Not fun,” he said. “Not when you’re used to it. I don’t like playing golf and not feeling like I can compete and win. For six months, eight months of last year I didn’t feel I could do that. I didn’t feel like my game was where it needed to be, it wasn’t sharp.”

He began working with Butch Harmon to understand his swing and how to play the game. That took time. And when the 2015 season began, it was time for him to prove all over that he belonged in the big events.

“This is going to be hopefully the kind of player I am for many years going forward,” he said.

That didn’t make Sunday at Pebble Beach easy. Snedeker might have looked calm during the final 5 1/2 hours. He was a wreck inside, especially in the early going when it appeared that any number of players would have a chance.

Jim Furyk had a one-shot lead and disappeared early with a 38 on the front nine, though it was three birdie putts inside 10 feet that really cost him. Furyk felt like he hit the ball where he was aiming and couldn’t believe he was losing ground. He closed with a 74, and for the ninth time since his last win at the 2010 Tour Championship, he failed to convert when he had at least a share of the 54-hole lead.

Torrey Pines winner Jason Day made a brief charge in the middle of the round. So did Pat Perez until a pair of bogeys around the turn did him in. The consolation for Perez was winning the pro-am title with Pandora Jewelry co-founder Michael Lund.

The big challenge from Nick Watney, who already had a dream week by having San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey as his partner. Watney opened with four straight birdies and had a two-shot lead. It turned on a bad break and a bad shot. A photographer shot off his camera at the top of Watney’s swing on the par-3 fifth, and he came up woefully short in a bunker and made bogey.

With a 4-iron for his second shot on the par-5 sixth, Watney hit his “worst swing of the week.” It sailed to right off the cliffs into Stillwater Cover, leading to bogey. Just like that, he was one shot behind, and after another pair of bogeys on the back nine, he was along for the ride.

“Even though I only lost a shot there, it was a momentum stall,” Watney said of the bogey on No. 6. “Along with making the bogey on No. 9 with a pitching wedge. Those two, if I could have two back, it would be that swing on 6 and the second shot into No. 9.”

There was no stopping Snedeker. He is swinging well. He is putting well. He was a winner again, his seventh on the PGA Tour. And he broke by two shots his tournament record with a 265, and the winning score to par at 22 under previously held by Phil Mickelson and Mark O’Meara.

“I’m just so excited about what’s next,” Snedeker said.

Canada’s David Hearn notched a final round of 2-under 70 to finish tied for 21st. Graham DeLaet’s 7-under 281 was good for a share of 57th place.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Jim Furyk hasn’t competed on the PGA Tour in seven months, so he kept his expectations to a minimum at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

That changed into pressure he knows all too well with one big round.

Furyk made seven birdies over his last 10 holes at Pebble Beach on Saturday, the last one with a wedge he spun back to tap-in range on the par-5 18th, for his best round in two decades playing this tournament. He had a 9-under 63 and a one-shot lead over Matt Jones and Brandt Snedeker going into the final round.

For the 44-year-old Furyk, it’s another chance to end more than four years without a victory. He has had at least a share of the 54-hole lead eight times during that drought without converting. But at least he has another chance.

“Ultimately, I want to win golf tournaments and that’s what’s most important to me,” said Furyk, who was at 18-under 197. “And I think maybe at times last year, I sat here and looked at y’all and said, `I’m not going to put pressure on myself, I’m just going to go out there and try and play the same way.’ It’s not hard to look you right in the eye and say, `I want to win golf tournaments.’ But it’s hard to go out the next day and try to play the same way and not put extra pressure on yourself.

“We all expect a lot of ourselves and we all put pressure on ourselves on Sunday,” he said. “But I think that the way maybe I was doing it in the past was a little counterproductive at times.”

Jones made six birdies in a seven-hole stretch and built a three-shot lead late in the glorious afternoon until he made bogey on his last two holes at Pebble Beach for a 67. Furyk caught up to him and then passed him with a wedge to a foot on the final hole. Brandt Snedeker, who went 47 holes before making his first bogey of the tournament, made a 20-foot birdie putt on his final hole for a 67.

“Didn’t have my best stuff starting out today,” Snedeker said. “I was able to gut out a good round. You kind of have to do that. … You’re going to have a stretch of golf where you’re not playing your best, and hopefully, mine is behind me now.”

Furyk had a stretch of great golf, and it carried him to his best round at Pebble Beach. He made an 8-foot birdie on the ninth hole and took off. He twice had tap-in birdies, and three others were inside 10 feet.

It was better than he imagined considering how long he has been away from competition. His last official tournament was the Tour Championship on Sept. 14 when he tied for second. He also played the Ryder Cup and filled in at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, but otherwise took one of the longest breaks of his career.

“I really didn’t know where I stood coming out here,” Furyk said. “I was going to be very patient and see where I was, and go play Pebble and L.A. and reassess and have the week off to get ready for Doral and Tampa. I guess I’m pleasantly surprised. I wouldn’t expect to be 18-under par after three days, I’ll promise you that. But also didn’t expect the weather to be like this either.”

The weather has been nothing short of ideal, and it showed in the scoring. The cut was 7-under 209, breaking the tournament record of 4 under in 2005. That was too low for John Daly, who had a 73 at Spyglass Hill and missed the cut for the 11th straight time at this event dating to his rookie season in 1991.

It was the first time Furyk had the lead going into the final round since the Canadian Open nearly seven months ago. “I think it’s only been four events,” Furyk cracked, and he was close. It was six events ago. He also shared the lead at the Barclays, though that was wide open. And in some respects, so is this one.

A one-shot lead in the final round on the PGA Tour is like having no lead at all, and Furyk has more than Snedeker and Jones to worry about. Nick Watney, who played at Fresno State and was thrilled to be playing with San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, had a 65 at Pebble Beach and was two shots behind. Kevin Chappell, who grew up in Fresno, had a 66 at Pebble and was two shots behind.

Brantford, Ont.’s David Hearn dropped 13 spots into a tie for 17th Saturday after a 1-under 71.

Weyburn, Sask. native Graham DeLaet climbed 53 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 24th thanks to a 7-under 64. Other three players, including Furyk, had better rounds Saturday.

Canadians Nick Taylor, Roger Sloan and Mike Weir all failed to make the 54-hole cut.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Enjoying the best weather Pebble Beach has to offer is one thing. Brandt Snedeker knew he had to take advantage of it with his golf clubs, too.

Snedeker played bogey-free at Spyglass in abundant sunshine and warmth Friday for a 5-under 67 to share the 36-hole lead with Matt Jones in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Jones had a 66 at Spyglass Hill.

They were at 12-under 131, one shot ahead of Justin Hicks, who had a 68 at Monterey Peninsula.

John Daly, who started the second round one shot behind and briefly was tied for the lead when he birdied his opening hole at Monterey Peninsula, didn’t make a birdie over his last 11 holes and shot a 72. He dropped into a tie for 37th and will have to play well Saturday at Spyglass to avoid missing the cut for the 11th straight time at this event.

Scoring has been low, which was to be expected with barely any breeze and enough sunshine to make the ball go farther through a combination of warm air and firmer than usual fairways. The top 60 and ties make the cut, and 60th place was at 4-under par.

Snedeker and Jones now head to Pebble Beach, along with the celebrity rotation.

The pros’ outlook was different.

“If the greens firm up, Pebble is going to play the hardest because they’re such small greens,” Jones said, who won the Shell Houston Open last year for his first PGA Tour title. “If you’re not hitting your irons well enough, you’re going to struggle out there.”

Snedeker, who won at Pebble Beach two years ago, always felt that was the key to getting into contention and to winning.

“The years I’m playing good, it seems like it comes down to how you play Pebble for me the last two days,” he said. “When the weather is good, you need to be able to get after it and shoot a low round. And the way the scores are right now and the weather forecast over the weekend, it’s going to take … somewhere around 20-under par to win this golf tournament. So I’ve got to look at 7- to 10-under par the next couple days to win. Can’t take the foot off the gas pedal.”

FedEx Cup champion Billy Horschel, who hasn’t finished in the top 20 this season, had a 65 at Spyglass Hill and was part of a large group two shots behind. The biggest move of the day belonged to Torrey Pines winner Jason Day, who wasn’t ever sure he would play.

Day said he took his son to the emergency room with a stomach ailment, which then was passed to his wife and then to him. The Australian wasn’t sure he could play 30 minutes before his tee time, and then he posted a 62 at Monterey Peninsula.

That put him only three shots out of the lead, along with Jim Furyk (70) and Nick Watney (69), who both played at Spyglass.

No one needs to get it in gear like Snedeker.

When he won at Pebble Beach two years ago, he moved to a career-high No. 4 in the world, the highest-ranked American behind Tiger Woods. He now is one spot behind Woods in the world ranking, except that’s not a good thing. Snedeker is No. 63 and can’t count on the tournaments he regularly plays, particularly the Masters.

He had only four top 10s all of last year and fell out of the top 50. After missing the cut in his 2015 debut at the Humana Challenge, Snedeker has taken baby steps in Phoenix and San Diego and appears to be hitting his stride.

“It’s no fun not being eligible for the Masters and not playing World Golf Championships and stuff like that,” Snedeker said. “So it’s a huge motivating factor, not that I need any more to be motivated for, but I definitely want to make sure that I qualify for the Masters and Match Play and WGCs and all that kind of stuff. And to do that, I need to play good. So it’s nobody to blame but myself. I need to get out there and get it done.”

It helps when his putter is cooperating, always the best part of his game. That’s what he has been working on the most, believing that everything revolves around his short game. Now he feels like he is putting the way he should, and he put his old putter back in the bag in November after replacing it toward the second half of the season.

“Sometimes you got to use some harsh words with the putter if it’s not paying attention and bench them, leave them in a hot trunk for a while and let them know that they can be replaced,” he said with a smile. “And luckily, she understood and got back into working form.”

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont. shot a second-round 66 to climb 11 spots into a tie for 4th with nine others at 10-under 133.

Weyburn, Sask. native Graham DeLaet is 3-under (141), Abbotsford, B.C.’s Nick Taylor is 2-over (146) and Mike Weir of Bright’s Grove, Ont. is 8-over (151).

Merrit, B.C.’s Roger Sloan carded an 11 on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach today to finish with an 82. He’s 10-over at 154.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Mark Hubbard faced more pressure than anyone else Thursday on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach.

It wasn’t about making par, but a marriage proposal.

A plan in the works for two months came off perfectly when the PGA Tour allowed his proposal to Meaghan McCurley to be flashed on the video board. Their families knew what was going on. She was the last one to figure it out.

Moments after tapping in for par, the 25-year-old rookie from San Jose dropped to a knee behind the 18th green with the ring in hand.

“Her mom had the idea when I asked her dad for permission,” Hubbard said after an even-par 72. “She just thought it would be cool to include golf, and we’ve been together for so long I felt like I had to do something different than just take her out to dinner or something. So it just kind of all clicked.”

Hubbard’s first idea was to put the proposal on a caddie bib when the tour approved of a message on the video board. It helps that as a rookie he tends to be in the last grouping of the opening rounds. He planned the proposal for whatever day he was at Pebble Beach.

“If I had a really good round going, I definitely would have been thinking on 18, `Oh God, don’t blow this.’ But it was just a frustrating, ho-hum day, so it kind of kept my attention off the last hole,” he said.

The hard part was getting through the final hole. Turns out he had enough difficult shots to keep his mind in the right place, starting with a tee shot that features golf’s biggest water hazard – the Pacific – hugging the left side of the hole. He faced a bunker shot close to the lip. And then he had a 20-footer for birdie.

“I wasn’t thinking about it until I ran my putt 2 feet by and I was like, `Man, it would really (stink) to three-putt right now,” Hubbard said. “So I was pretty glad I made that second one.”

And when is the wedding?

“Tomorrow at Monterey Peninsula,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t know. We haven’t gotten that far yet.”

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Sunshine is always a pleasant surprise at Pebble Beach, and Thursday brought a real stunner: John Daly was near the top of the leaderboard.

With his best opening round on the PGA Tour in nearly 10 years, Daly kept a clean card at Pebble Beach on a magnificent day along the Monterey Peninsula for a 7-under 65, leaving him one shot behind J.B. Holmes and Justin Hicks in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Daly won an exhibition in Turkey last year. The last official win for the two-time major champion was at Torrey Pines in 2004. So when Daly rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on his final hole, one of the volunteers wasn’t joking when he said, “Daly is at 7 under? On his own?”

Daly laughed when he heard that. Then again, this day could put anyone in a good mood.

His golf was as glorious as the sunshine. Three years ago, a beautiful day gave way to fog and then rain without notice in a two-hour span. Last year, the third round was ravaged by rain and 30 mph win. Thursday brought long shadows.

“To have weather like this now – it’s supposed to be like this all week – it is absolutely incredible,” said Jim Furyk, who made his 2015 debut with a 64 at Monterey Peninsula. It’s already one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to and then to have weather like this, it’s just spectacular.”

Hicks and Holmes each shot 8-under 64 at Pebble Beach, typically the easiest course in the rotation in benign conditions.

Furyk, former Pebble winner Brandt Snedeker and Chesson Hadley were at 7-under 64 at Monterey Peninsula, while J.J. Henry and Dudley Hart joined Daly at 65 at Pebble Beach. The low score at Spyglass Hill belonged to Alex Prugh at 6-under 66.

Jason Day, coming off a playoff win at Torrey Pines that included Holmes, struggled to a 72 at Pebble Beach. He wasn’t even the low Day in the day. Glen Day, in his final year before he is eligible for the Champions Tour, shot a 5-under 66 at Monterey Peninsula.

Holmes had a start as ideal as the weather. He holed a wedge from 123 yards on the 10th hole for eagle, and then hit another wedge to 5 feet for birdie on No. 11. For all his length, he only birdied one of the par 5s, and that was with a 20-foot putt.

Even so, it was good way to forget last week, where he lost on the second playoff hole.

“I’ve just got to keep reminding myself it was a great week for me, and I did everything I could do and just carry that on to this week and maybe things will go a little bit different this week,” he said.

Hicks saved his best for the final hole, reaching the par 5 in two and making an 18-foot eagle putt. His week began with a big laugh. His back felt tight, so Hicks went to see a local chiropractor to relieve some of the pain. Then he went to the tour’s chiropractor, who told him his glutes weren’t activating.

“I almost fell off the chair,” Hicks said. That was the phrase Tiger Woods used last week when he withdrew after 11 holes. “I never quite used that term myself to describe an injury. I never really even heard that term. So to have him tell me that, I was just thinking, `You’re kidding, right?'”

Daly, however, caused the biggest stir. It was his best start since a 64 in the Byron Nelson Championship in 2005.

He can deliver a good round – or win a major, for that matter – out of nowhere. Still, this wouldn’t seem to be the place for it. Daly tied for 20th at Pebble Beach in his rookie season in 1991 and he hasn’t made the cut in 10 tries since then. And he still hasn’t.

“That wouldn’t shock me,” Daly said when told of his record. “I still haven’t made it yet.”

Next up is a trip to Monterey Peninsula, and Daly isn’t sure what to expect. Part of him was still in shock over the colors – emerald green on the fairways, blue in the ocean and that big yellow ball in the sky, always a welcome guest.

Of course, he had those colors and more in the pattern of his Loudmouth pants. Daly said that pattern is called, “In the Jungle.”

“I’m just glad I didn’t shoot something in jungle today,” he said.

It was a simple round, or at least he made it look that way. Daly only missed three fairways and took 26 putts, two areas of his game that have cost him over the years. And for all the great golf he played, he couldn’t stop talking about the weather. He usually only sees Pebble like this on a postcard.

“It’s just great to be able to come out here and not have to survive the weather and survive the golf course,” he said. “But we’ll just see what happens.”

It wasn’t clear if he was talking about the weather or his game.

David Hearn was the low Canadian after 18 holes. Playing at Pebble, the Brantford, Ont. native carded a 5-under 67 for a share of 15th Thursday.

Merrit, B.C.’s Roger Sloan opened with an even-par 72 at Spyglass Hill, while Bright’s Grove, Ont.’s Mike Weir had a 74 at Pebble.

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C. and Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask. each carded 4-over 76s at Spyglass.