Signature Scroll: Could incredible Scottie Scheffler streak end? Stars chase Akshay Bhatia at Pebble Beach

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Signature Scroll

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Highlights | Round 2 | AT&T Pebble Beach | 2026

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Written by Paul Hodowanic

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No major champions are within four strokes of the lead through two days at Pebble Beach, but there are six within six strokes. Will any of them make a move over the weekend? Seems likely. But first … Late putting miscues stifle Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy’s first nine holes of his TOUR season were sublime. The Northern Irishman could do no wrong, stuffing approaches, holing bunker shots and pouring in putts. He made the turn at Spyglass Hill at 5-under and added another birdie early on his inward nine. It was the continuation of a year ago, when he also began his year on the Monterey Peninsula, and shot a bogey-free 66 with a hole-in-one that laid the foundation for a convincing victory later in the week.

A moment for the forgotten (young) man

We like to follow the bright and shiny object … in life and in golf. In this profession, it’s easy to do. Every tournament features dozens of golfers who are constantly oscillating between great, good and forgettable. This is particularly true for young players. We get enamored by their potential until the next one comes along and then our focus shifts. Like a dog, we chase every new stick.

In the last 12 months, the likes of Ludvig Åberg, Luke Clanton, Michael Brennan, Neal Shipley and Michael Thorbjornsen have dominated individual news cycles. Would you be surprised to know that the 36-hole leader at Pebble Beach is younger than all but one of them? And has at least as many victories as any of them?

Somehow, the 24-year-old two-time TOUR winner Akshay Bhatia has fallen through the cracks in the race to crown the next best young golfer. He’s mentioned, but never seems to be chosen. This weekend could change that.

Bhatia shot an exemplary 8-under 64 at Spyglass Hill to sit atop the leaderboard at the halfway point. This would be his most notable win yet, and first since the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Bhatia spoke after his round Friday, but the most insightful thing he has said recently came a few months back at the Hero World Challenge.

“I think that I don’t really realize how young I am,” Bhatia said then. “This week I’m the youngest guy in the field, which is really hard for me to process.

“One thing I ask myself, which is kind of funny, don’t know if I should share it, but I’ve gotta ask myself, ‘What was Scottie Scheffler doing at 23?’” Bhatia continued. “He was still working his way on the Korn Ferry Tour.”

Meanwhile, Bhatia is making his 100th career PGA TOUR start this week. He feels like a known quantity to some because he’s already been on TOUR for three years. Yet he’s only continued to improve. And at 24 years old, he seems primed for a breakthrough. It could come this week. A star-studded group of chasers will be trying to stop him. Keegan Bradley, Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick are all within six shots.

It’s official. There’s a new 36-hole scoring average record at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. And it’s the continuation of a three-year barrage of birdies at one of the cathedrals of American golf. Through two rounds, the scoring average at Pebble Beach Golf Links was 68.7. At Spyglass Hill, it was 69.6. Both are the lowest in tournament history.

A confluence of factors could explain it. Benign conditions and a soft course, set up by heavy rain to begin the week, certainly plays a factor. The smaller, elite field does, too. It also just seems to be a feature, not a bug, over recent years. Extrapolated out round-by-round, here’s a look at the five lowest single-round scoring averages at Pebble Beach in tournament history. Spoiler: they’re all from the last three years.

• 2025 Round 1 – 68.18
• 2026 Round 1 – 68.25
• 2026 Round 2 – 69.10
• 2024 Round 3 – 69.08
• 2025 Round 4 – 69.68

Incredible streak in jeopardy

What about Scottie Scheffler? He has 17 top 10s in a row, though that streak is in jeopardy for a second consecutive week. The undisputed top player on TOUR rebounded with a second-round 66 at Spyglass Hill on Friday as he attempted to claw back after an even-par opening round left him 10 strokes off the lead. Eighteen holes later, Scheffler is still nine shots back.

“I felt like I played better again than my score today, which is pretty frustrating, but was able to get some stuff going on the back nine,” said Scheffler, who has finished in the top 10 in every event since the Texas Children’s Houston Open last March. “So at least a respectable score today versus yesterday, wasn’t very respectable.”

Scheffler has little care about extending a top-10 streak. His sole motive is winning. But the stat illustrates the consistently elite play that has elicited comparisons between Scottie Scheffler and Tiger Woods. Scheffler’s top-10 streak is the longest in 61 years. Billy Casper also hit 17 top 10s in a row between 1964-65.

In a time where Scheffler seemingly sets records every week, this is a particularly impressive one. He’s four strokes back of the top 10 after 36 holes.

“I think it’s the way it is here a little bit,” said McIlroy.

It also could get reversed in the final two rounds. Spieth said the wind is expected to change, which would have the players playing into the wind on the gettable front nine. If that happens, “Pebble’s going to show more of its teeth,” he said.

• ❤️‍🔥 Taylor Swift didn’t show up to Pebble Beach this week to watch Travis Kelce in the pro-am, but plenty bought tickets just in case. Within 12 hours of the announcement of Kelce’s inclusion, the tournament sold $60,000 in tickets. More here.
• ✅ Sahith Theegala will play The Genesis Invitational after all. He narrowly missed via the Aon Swing 5, but received the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption on Friday.
• 🎥 Expect to see some new broadcast features when you tune into weekend coverage. Among them: tee shot tracing with multiple drones and advanced weather metrics.
• ⛱️The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard announced three sponsor exemptions on Friday. Jordan Spieth is among them.

Tommy Fleetwood looks for his ball on the beach on the 18th hole during Round 2 of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. (Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

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Feb 14, 2026

Draws and Fades