It is the most famous public course in the United States, and the scene of many spectacular golfing moments over the years. In 2000, for example, Tiger Woods won the US Open by a record-setting 15 shots, with the Costa del Sol’s own Miguel Ángel Jiménez finishing joint runner-up alongside Ernie Els.
Now we can add another name to that stellar list: Hurly Long. Not exactly a household name, but the Texas Tech senior has achieved what no other player has before him at Pebble Beach, including Tom Kite and David Duval, who carded 10-under 62s during the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am to set the course record.
That honour now belongs to Long, who shot a second round 11-under 61 while competing in the Carmel Cup. His score included a 15-metre putt for birdie on the par-three 17th and a four-metre for another crucial birdie on the par-five 18th.
“It’s very surreal,” Long told PebbleBeach.com. “It’s taken me until now for it to kick in. Pebble Beach is just a special place. I was talking about it with my teammates: where else in the world would you want to have the course record? Maybe Augusta National? It’s a huge, huge honour.”
Interestingly, the same day that Long was breaking the record, Andalucía Golf/España Golf co-publisher and Holiday Golf managing director Stefan Tjellander was also visiting Pebble Beach.
