The first tee at Pebble Beach is a special place. As a public golfer, it’s one of those experiences you don’t forget. The pro shop’s right there, and people walking through will stop and watch as the starter announces your tee time.
The first hole meanders just slightly to the right, but enough so that most opt for an iron or fairway wood off the tee, with a tree blocking the right side. Given the anticipation of a round at Pebble Beach, it’s an incredibly tough opening tee shot.
Francesco Molinari can attest. He hit a shot that thousands of other Pebble Beach golfers can relate to. The conditions are really tough on day three at the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am, and maybe with a little nerves from the 2018 Open champion, this tee shot was the result:
https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1360640939556036613?s=20
Few words can describe that one … as you can tell from the PGA Tour Live announcers, who were left speechless at that result. Yep, that’s a cold top. He barely cleared the last set of tees, according to the ShotLink:
ShotLink read “70 yards to unknown” for Molinari’s tee ball. Impressively, he would go on to bogey the first hole. But more importantly, he has become more relatable to all regular golfers out there watching. We can all hit the kind of opening tee shot this Major champion did on Saturday.