Page 18 - AT

A18 SPORTS
Friday 7 February 2020
Nick Taylor takes lead on glorious day at Pebble Beach

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) Spyglass, while Jordan Spi-
— Nick Taylor opened with eth checked in at 70. They
an eagle, closed with two typically play in the same
birdies and made a gor- group that does not lack
geous day feel even better in entertainment with their
with an 8-under 63 at Mon- amateurs, hockey great
terey Peninsula that gave Wayne Gretzky and coun-
him the lead Thursday in try singer Jake Owen.
the AT&T Pebble Beach Gretzky hit into a bunker off
Pro-Am. the tee at No. 6, found the
Most of the interest over first of two bunkers in front
three courses in the rotation of the green and went
was at Spyglass Hill, which into the other bunker from
featured Dustin Johnson there. Spieth delivered the
and Phil Mickelson, along good news: "There's no
with five NFL quarterbacks bunkers left," he said.
that included Peyton Man- Such is the nature of this
ning and his recently retired week, a blend of incom-
brother, Eli. parable scenery and am-
The iconic scenery is at ateurs that include enter-
Pebble Beach, especially tainers and athletes, and
when the surf turns a tur- corporate titans who learn
quoise hue under so much that a net worth topping
sunshine. Nick Taylor, right, is greeted after finishing play on the ninth green of the Monterey Peninsula $1 billion won't calm nerves
Taylor went about his busi- County Club Shore Course during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf over a putt.
ness quietly, and most ef- tournament Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, in Pebble Beach, Calif. Among those at 5-under
fectively. Associated Press par were Charley Hoffman,
Starting on the back nine who holed out from the
at Monterey Peninsula, with five-and-a-half hours is a Cantlay made nine bird- from a chip just behind the fairway for eagle on No.
a chilly breeze at his back, long round. But we were ies at Spyglass and wasn't green at No. 2 that rolled 4 at Spyglass for the loud-
he hit 4-iron to a back pin very relaxed today, joked even the best putter in his out some 6 feet by the pin, est cheer of the day, and
that settled 4 feet away all day, and I felt like the group. Some of his best and a birdie chance that Harry Higgs, the PGA Tour
for an eagle, ht 3-iron out mood was great." views of this stunning day turned into bogey with a rookie who drew Commis-
of the rough for a two-putt He led by two shots to par along the rugged coastline three-putt from 18 feet on sioner Jay Monahan as his
birdie on the par-5 16th over Patrick Cantlay (Spy- was watching champion the skinny green at the pic- partner.
and knew he was playing glass) and Chase Seiffert surfer Kelly Slater on the turesque fourth. Mickelson ultimately was
well when he hit 4-iron to 10 (Pebble Beach), who each greens, not in the pipe. The rest of it was solid, and happy to be in range after
feet on the first hole, a 495- had a 6-under 66. "He looked like the best put- the number of birdies was his 68, though it wasn't look-
yard par 4 that feels even Defending champion Phil ter on tour today," Cantlay encouraging. ing all that great when he
longer when the air is cold Mickelson, whose third- said of his amateur partner. Cantlay loves the Mon- failed to birdie any of the
at sea level. place finish in Saudi Arabia Cantlay, who tried surfing terey Peninsula so much he par 5s at Spyglass and had
Better still was the finish — last week was his best result one time as a teenager and could retire here, and he gone 10 holes without a
a 5-iron back toward the in a year, was slightly disap- wisely gave it up, showed had even more reason to birdie until birdies on his last
ocean to 5 feet, and then pointed with his 68 at Spy- why golf has worked out love it Thursday. His group three holes.
a wind-aided 3-iron from glass because of how well OK for him. Despite two soft was first off in the morning, "I let a lot of opportunities
240 yards on a back tee he he felt he hit it off the tee. bogeys early in his round giving them an entire front slide," he said. "But I shot a
had never seen to 20 feet. "I drove it like a stallion," and a bogey on the par-5 nine of fresh greens. 4-under par round and it's
"A nice start," Taylor said, re- said Mickelson, a phrase he 14th from mud on his ball, "Course was probably the not going to hurt me."
ferring to his 4-iron that set once used in describing his he was among the lead- best shape I've ever seen The hurt belonged to David
up eagle and the 63 that play at the $9 million pay- ers and feeling comfort- it and we're getting per- Duval, whose scorecard
matched his low round on per-view match he won able with all aspects of his fect weather," he said. "So contained a 4, 5, 6, 7 and
the tour. "The weather helps against Tiger Woods in Las game. yeah, it's great." 8. He made one birdie in his
out. If it's raining, it's windy, Vegas. The two bogeys early came Dustin Johnson had a 69 at round of 84.q

Court rules fantasy sports contests are illegal gambling

By MARY ESCH the activity by classifying and FanDuel to operate Gambling on behalf of four fice pool. This is about state
Associated Press it as a game of skill, not and be regulated in New plaintiffs who had suffered government cheating and
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Daily chance. York. The two fantasy sports personal or family harm exploiting people, contrib-
fantasy contests like those "We're very gratified by the companies had agreed to from gambling debts. uting to the huge debt cul-
operated by FanDuel and decision," said attorney Neil suspend their operations in "The reason New York state ture in the state."
DraftKings face an uncer- Murray, who represents the New York earlier that year has a constitutional prohi- A spokesman for Attorney
tain future in New York after group that brought the in a settlement with then- bition on commercialized General Letitia James said
an appellate court ruled lawsuit. "We think the integ- Attorney General Eric Sch- gambling promoted by staff are reviewing the de-
Thursday that a 2016 law rity of the New York state neiderman, who said their the state is because it's a cision and haven't decided
legalizing such games vio- Constitution has been up- businesses amounted to il- form of consumer financial whether it will be appealed
lated a constitutional prohi- held." legal gambling. fraud," Les Bernal, national to the state's highest court,
bition on gambling. Gov. Andrew Cuomo The lawsuit challenging director of Stop Predatory the Court of Appeals.
The court upheld a lower signed a bill into law in 2016 the constitutionality of the Gambling, said Thursday. Neither the DraftKings nor
court's ruling that the Legis- that cleared the way for law was coordinated by "This isn't about people FanDuel responded to re-
lature unlawfully authorized companies like DraftKings the group Stop Predatory having a Super Bowl of- quests for comment.q