Charlie Wi grabs 3-shot lead at Pebble; Woods 6 shots behind

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — On a day when sunshine gave way to a light rain, two things stayed the same Friday at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Charlie Wi was still atop the leaderboard, and Tiger Woods didn’t hole enough putts to make up ground.

Wi escaped most of the rain at Pebble Beach, where he holed a wedge from the 13th fairway for eagle and limited the damage to a bogey on his final hole for a 3-under 69 that allowed him to open a three-shot lead.

Dustin Johnson was caught off guard by the rain in the worst way. He stood in the fourth fairway at Spyglass with a short-sleeve shirt, hands thrust in his pocket, as his caddie sent a friend running up the hill to the parking lot to retrieve his rain gear. His short game let him down, and the two-time Pebble champion had to settle for a 72 that put him three back.

Padraig Harrington had a 66 at Pebble Beach and was among those tied for third. Harrington had five birdies in a six-hole stretch early in his round, the exception coming at the par-5 sixth.

Woods, meanwhile, again looked poised to make a move over at Monterey Peninsula. He missed a 5-foot birdie putt on No. 9 and failed to make birdie on the par-5 10th when he pulled his second shot into the gallery. He had to settle for a 2-under 68, leaving him six behind.

Along the way, he stung his wrist hitting out of a divot and said he had to pop it back into the joint.

“No big deal,” he said.

The bigger deal was putting. Woods took 33 putts on the Shore Course, which he attributed to leaving the ball in the wrong spot — mostly above the hole — and struggling with greens he felt were getting slightly more bumpy as a mist turned into a light rain.

“It’s very close,” said Woods, playing this event for the first time in 10 years. “I got my ball-striking to where I feel very comfortable hitting the shots. I just need to make a couple of putts to get on a roll.”

Phil Mickelson struggled in sunshine. In rain, he ran off five birdies for a 65 at Monterey Peninsula that put him five shots behind.

“I don’t know what happened, but I started to play a lot better and make some birdies,” said Mickelson, a three-time winner at Pebble. “In the perfect conditions, I struggled. But to play these golf courses in such great condition either way has been a lot of fun.”

Wi was at 12-under 130 and now heads to Spyglass Hill, which has played slightly tougher than the other two courses.

In these shifting conditions, Spyglass played about two shots harder than it did Thursday, while Pebble Beach and Monterey Peninsula were about one shot more difficult than the day before.

Only 56 players broke par, compared with 87 in the opening round.

That would explain what was going through Wi’s mind when he set off at Pebble Beach, knowing the course gave up a pair of 63s in the opening round. It sure didn’t feel that easy.

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