Kang flirts with 59 and doesn’t even know it

It works both ways, though. The 18-year-old South Korean-born New Zealander won the event last year.

Sung Kang didn’t know anything about his amateur partner until he went on the Internet and looked up actor-comedian Ray Romano. “I shot 61.’ ‘No”, he said, ‘You shot 60′”.

The summation of Kang’s findings: “He did a really famous TV show for six or seven years, and he, like, gets nearly the third-most earnings from a TV drama show”.

This wasn’t a vintage Spieth round, just an efficient, quick day for the world’s best player.

Sung Kang of South Korea had to scramble for par on the last hole Friday to set the course record at Monterey Peninsula with an 11-under-par 60. “I played the hardest holes on this golf course four under par”, he said.

Jason Day had a 66 at Monterey Peninsula to get within five shots of the lead.

Phil Mickelson is in the hunt for a fifth Pebble Beach Pro-Am win this week.

Mickelson briefly held a two-stroke lead before Kang and Iwata took to the course. All of the golf will be played simultaneously at Pebble Beach, the official tournament host.

“It’s pretty much there”, he said. He’s played the eight par 5s he’s seen so far this week in just 1 under par.

As for Kang, it’s anybody’s guess what he might do with two rounds to go. Gwladys Nocera of France and Scotland’s Pamela Pretswell were tied for third, two behind Larsen, after 68s.

Overnight leader Justin Harding appeared to have revived his challenge with a hole-in-one on the par-3 No. 14 after starting with successive bogeys.

“Like an idiot, I switched drivers”, Mickelson said. He had to settle for a 65, and that wasn’t even the most exciting round at Monterey Peninsula.

Justin Rose has never been to this neck of the woods before this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, so it’s easy to forgive him for mixing up the order of operations.

World number one Jordan Spieth, back on the PGA Tour after playing tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Singapore, struggled with his short game as he mixed four birdies with three bogeys for an opening 71 on the challenging Spyglass Hill layout. He, too, likes his chances. “Everyone was under 21 and 80 percent female”, Rose said. If you are going to get Pebble Beach, you better get it early. “It will be my first competitive round ever at Pebble, so it will be a good day”. The biggest cheers are unlikely to come after a booming 350 yard drive or a sumptuous flop-shot from a green-side bunker but rather a witty piece of banter or a hysterical act of self-depreciating humour from a Hollywood personality.

Australian Open champion Matt Jones is also in contention after shooting a two-under 70 at Spyglass Hill to join Day at six-under for the tournament.