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Published Thu, Feb 09, 2012 07:33 PM
Modified Thu, Feb 09, 2012 08:43 PM

Johnson among leaders at Pebble Beach; Tiger five back

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- The Sports Network

Dustin Johnson, Danny Lee and Charlie Wi shot rounds of nine-under par Thursday to take the lead after one round of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods made his season debut on the PGA Tour and is tied for 15th at minus-four.

The tournament uses three courses in Pebble Beach -- Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula -- for the first three rounds.

Lee and Johnson, who won this event in 2009 and '10, both played Pebble Beach on Thursday and fired rounds of 63. Wi posted the low round of the day -- a 61 -- at Monterey Peninsula.

Ken Duke and Brian Harman both shot eight-under 64s at Pebble Beach and are tied for fourth. Duke played his back nine at eight-under -- six birdies, one eagle -- to rise up the leaderboard.

Phil Mickelson posted a two-under 70 at Spyglass Hill, the same course Woods played Thursday.

Johnson got off to a blazing start, going six-under through his first six holes. He posted birdies at two and four, with eagles at three and six. He drained a 41-yard shot at the par-four third, then sank the 64-foot eagle putt from the edge of the green at the sixth.

He made the turn at six-under and birdied the 11th, but gave the shot back with a bogey at the next hole. However, he birdied three of his final six holes to head into the clubhouse with a share of the lead.

Lee began his round from the 10th tee and started his climb toward the lead at the par-four 11th. He was 106 yards short of the hole after his first shot, but sank his second for an eagle.

Birdies at 16 and 17 sent Lee around the turn at four-under, and another at the first set the tone for a strong front nine. At the par-five second, Lee dumped his second shot into the bunker to the left of the green, but blasted out and in for a 15-yard eagle. He also posted birdies at the fifth and seventh to grab a share of the lead.

Wi was also mistake-free during his round at Monterey Peninsula's Shore Course. He put together a stellar seven-hole run starting from the fourth to gain seven strokes. After consecutive birdies, he eagled the par-five sixth and made three consecutive birdies from the eighth to get to minus-seven.

He then birdied the 13th and 15th to have a shot at 59, but parred his final three holes. Still, he carded a 61 to set the course record, breaking the mark of 62 set by Jeff Maggert last year.

"I'd never been that successful at PCC. I thought if I shoot two, three, four under, that would be a good score," Wi said. "I didn't even have a score in mind. I just wanted to make sure my execution was good out there, and luckily I was able to drop some putts."

Woods, who finished in a tie for third in Abu Dhabi at the end of January, had an up-and-down round. He birdied his first two holes starting from the 10th tee, but bogeyed the 13th. Woods had another bogey at the fourth but mixed in four more birdies to end the round below par.

"I drove it great all day today. I felt like I drove it on a string," Woods said. "Unfortunately, going into the greens I was not very good at all. I had some wedges that I hit some awful golf shots."

Woods called his round "frustrating," but added that Spyglass Hill is the hardest of the three courses.

"Hopefully I can get it going the next couple days," Woods said.

NOTES: Johnson is the highest-ranked player in the field, at No. 10...D.A. Points, the defending champion, shot even-par 72 at Spyglass Hill...Four players are tied for sixth at minus-six -- Nick Watney (66 at Spyglass Hill), Josh Teater (64 at Monterey Peninsula), Graham DeLaet (66 at Pebble Beach) and Kevin Na (66 at Spyglass Hill).

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