AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am 2016: Thursday Leaderboard Scores, Highlights

The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is a one-of-a-kind tournament on the PGA Tour. With three scenic courses to cover on the coast of California, celebrity cameos to keep an eye on and world-class golfers teeing it up, it's a lot to handle.

Thursday's first-round action spanned Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill and the Monterey Peninsula Country Club. Chez Reavie fired an eight-under 63 at the latter layout to grab an 18-hole advantage by one stroke over three others.

A lot of the biggest stars in the field began at Spyglass Hill, which most consider to be the most difficult of the three courses. Long-hitting American J.B. Holmes and former U.S. Open champion Justin Rose carded six-under 66s for the best scores on that course.

Golf Digest's Dave Shedloski praised the job Holmes and Rose did to get into the clubhouse with such good scores:

Phil Mickelson and young gun Brooks Koepka also teed it up at Spyglass. Both shot 68s to remain within striking distance.

Koepka was four under through his first four holes thanks to an eagle at the par-five 11th and two straight birdies thereafter. He cooled off but battled back from bogeys on Nos. 4 and 6 with back-to-back birdies at the seventh and eighth holes to build momentum at the end of the day.

But everyone is chasing Reavie thanks to a stretch from Nos. 10 through 16 at Monterey. The PGA Tour's official Twitter account shared some of his highlights:

The 34-year-old came home seven under to soar to the top of the leaderboard, but he has a tougher slate ahead than many of his chief challengers.

World No. 1 Jordan Spieth endured his fair share of struggles in Round 1. Starting at Spyglass, he carded four birdies and three bogeys in a round of 71.

ESPN.com's Jason Sobel reacted to the lackluster ball-striking Spieth displayed:

Spieth did flash the flat-iron brilliance that's helped him to the top of the golf world on the par-three fifth hole following a solid approach, per the PGA Tour:

Considering he hit only 10 of 18 greens in regulation, it was an achievement for Spieth to remain in red figures. The greats can grind out decent scores when they aren't at their best, which is what Spieth did Thursday.  

Jason Day did something similar, going out in one-over 37 but making no bogeys and two birdies on the back nine en route to a score of one under.

Among the threesome that's more prominently in contention and only one shot off the pace, Freddie Jacobson figures to have the best chance of hoisting the trophy Sunday.

Jacobson's seven-under 65 at Pebble Beach was the best on the course and a nice recovery from the final-round 76 he shot at the Farmers Insurance Open—where he tied for fourth.

And now for some bonus celebrity highlights: Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald made the trip to the links and played alongside Kevin Streelman. They shot three under as a team at Spyglass Hill, and Fitzgerald nestled his third shot to the par-five seventh in pretty close, per the PGA Tour:

At Pebble Beach's picturesque par-five 14th, ESPN personality Chris Berman's struggles showed the tough conditions amateurs have to deal with, per the PGA Tour:

That putt was back, back, back, back, back...gone.

Considering that the players will be on different courses for each of the next two days and the waterside winds can impact scoring conditions, it's especially tough to tell who will remain in the hunt.

Golf is fickle as it is. Throw in different courses, individual players' preferences and the unpredictable winds, and it makes for a challenge to project what will happen over the next 54 holes.

The field will cut down after two rounds and again ahead of Sunday's finale at Pebble Beach. It appears as though many of the big names will be around for the weekend and factor into the hunt in the last round.

Post-Round Reaction

Spieth had some brief comments, saying, per PGATour.com's Brian Wacker, "It was great," when asked about playing with hockey legend Wayne Gretzky.

But in assessing his performance, Spieth was a bit more serious and harsh, stating the round was "a bit weak."

Mickelson couldn't wait to get back to the site of four previous victories, explaining how much he'd longed to return to the area.

"A ton. I missed it a lot. Especially when we get such great weather," said Mickelson, per the PGA Tour's official Twitter account.