PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - He described the day as "dreary." But Justin Rose, an Englishman, was speaking to the cool, wet weather and is entitled to assess it as "kind of English, I suppose, in many ways." Surely by dreary he wasn't referencing the start to his second round Friday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. That's because birdies at his second and third holes and a hole-in-one at his sixth, the par-3 15th at Spyglass Hills, shot Rose up the leaderboard. A nice place to be for a guy looking for his first PGA TOUR win since the Farmers Invitational three years ago. Since then, Rose has played 67 TOUR events without a win and he'd love nothing better than to end that skid. "It was nice to get out (early). Some early momentum was great." The ace, which was Rose's third in PGA TOUR competition (and 12th in his life), still had him smiling a few hours later. "A special day always when you manage to have a hole-in-one," said Rose. "Really fun to do (that). So, really that was a nice moment." A pair of late bogeys softened the enthusiasm, but with a 3-under 69 Rose is 6-under at the halfway mark and will head into the weekend just a few strokes off the lead. That's the good news. What makes it even better is the fact that most of the names ahead of Rose will play Saturday at either Pebble Beach or Spyglass Hills. Rose, meanwhile, will play at Monterey Peninsula CC which in Round 1 played to the lowest field average (69.846) of the three courses. Pebble played to 70.981 and Spyglass to 72.686. But here's the storyline that usually dominates at this tournament - the weather. With rain and blustery winds in the forecast for both Saturday and Sunday, it's a safe bet that Rose will use a word more intense than "dreary" to describe the conditions.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Kurt Kitayama is starting to feel more comfortable each time he gets in contention on the PGA TOUR, and the Californian can only hope that’s the case going into the weekend at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Kitayama opened with 10 straight pars before getting on track and finished birdie-par on two of the tougher holes at Pebble Beach for a 2-under 70 that gave him a one-shot lead Friday. Kitayama was at 9-under 134 and led by one over Keith Mitchell, Brandon Wu, Joseph Bramlett and Hank Lebioda. The way the forecast looks, getting comfortable on the Monterey Peninsula takes on a different meaning. Katayama’s last shot at his first PGA TOUR win was in the fall in THE CJ CUP in South Carolina at Congaree. He was tied for the lead going into the weekend with Jon Rahm, and he was in the final group and one shot behind Rory McIlroy going to the final round. He also finished runner-up to Rahm in Mexico last year, and to Xander Schauffele in the Genesis Scottish Open. “I think the more you put yourself in that position the more you can get comfortable feeling uncomfortable,” Kitayama said. “It’s definitely good experiences to fall back on and use coming Sunday, hopefully.” The contenders at Pebble don’t have that kind of star power. Of the leading 10 players, only four have won on the PGA TOUR and Scott Stallings is the only multiple winner. Far more daunting is the fickle weather at this tournament. Starting times for Saturday were moved up one hour because of strong wind, and it doesn’t take much in these parts for it to be a problem. Lebioda felt it coming down the stretch Friday at Pebble Beach. He was leading most of the day until a double bogey on the par-3 fifth hole when he went well left of the green, dumped the next shot in a bunker and took three to get down. He finished with a bogey and had to settle for a 72. “It was definitely more difficult,” Lebioda said. “I thought there was a little bit more wind during my round than I had yesterday out at Monterey. Course is probably a little bit more difficult, as well. So a combination of those two things made it a challenging round.” Lebioda moves over to Spyglass Hill and become a unique footnote in history. Saturday will be his 11th consecutive PGA TOUR round on his 11th different course. That’s partially a produce of missing his last five cuts on TOUR. He played Port Royal in the Bermuda Championship. He played the Plantation and Seaside courses at Sea Island in the RSM Classic. He started this year playing three courses in The American Express. From there he was off to Torrey Pines on the North and South Course. And this week he’s been at Monterey Peninsula, Pebble and Spyglass Hill. “We do our best to try to approach each round as its own event,” he said. Mitchell (68), Wu (66) and Bramlett (67) all played at Monterey Peninsula. Seamus Power of Ireland delivered the low round of a day that began with rain before giving way to steady wind and occasionally chilly weather when the shifting clouds kept the sun away. He had a 64 at Monterey Peninsula to get within two of the lead. “The first five, six holes kind of rainy and the ball just wasn’t going anywhere. Not much wind,” Power said. “Then we got to the turn and then for like an hour, hour-and-a-half, it really blew like pretty strongly there for awhile. The last few holes was very pleasant. “It was one of those days kind of like back home in Ireland where you get a lot of seasons in one day.” Viktor Hovland, who won a U.S. Amateur and was low amateur in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, is playing this tournament for the first time. He shot 67 at Monterey Peninsula and was three shots to par behind. Jordan Spieth had a 68 at Monterey Peninsula and was five behind. They next face Pebble Beach, the toughest of the three courses in the wind because so many holes are exposed along the ocean. Spieth was hoping for a little better Friday, but he was mildly pleased that the lead didn’t get too far away from him. “Still in it,” he said. “But we got what looks like a tough couple days coming up.”

The power of the three-course rotation in play for this week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is clearly evident when comparing the tournament leaderboard to the latest odds. Even on a crowded leaderboard, the likes of which we have through 36 holes on the Monterey Peninsula, typically oddsmakers defer to an outright leader. Not so this week, as Kurt Kitayama holds a slim one-shot advantage at the halfway point as he looks to win on the PGA TOUR for the first time. Kitayama isn't favored - he's not even solo second in the eyes of oddsmakers. His standing, at +900 along with four others and behind betting favorite Keith Mitchell (+800), is a testament to what lies ahead tomorrow for him: Spyglass Hill, by far the hardest of the three courses in play this week. Updated odds after Round 2, via BETMGM: +800: Keith Mitchell +900: Kurt Kitayama, Scott Stallings, Seamus Power, Viktor Hovland +1100: Justin Rose +1200: Joseph Bramlett +1400: Brandon Wu +1600: Denny McCarthy +2500: Jordan Spieth, Satoshi Kodaira Kitayama torched the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Thursday and added two more shots to par Friday at Pebble Beach, where he'll look to return for Sunday's final round. But Spyglass has been a menace all week, especially when the weather has conspired against players, and it won't be easy sledding for him (and others) tomorrow. Instead, the odds are tilted toward players that have Pebble on deck or, even better, Monterey. That explains Mitchell's status as favorite, as he was low man on the board Thursday at Spyglass and now gets to feast on a course that traditionally plays as the easiest of the rotation. The host course will serve as the equalizer for Sunday's finale, but before then we have another round of monitoring a three-course rotation on a day when winds could gust to 25 MPH in the afternoon. None of the three coastal layouts will be easy in those conditions, but those like Kitayama who are facing Spyglass could be in for some particularly difficult stretches. Draws Viktor Hovland No one can question the Norwegian's affinity for 17 Mile Drive. After capturing the 2018 U.S. Amateur here and following with low amateur honors at the U.S. Open the following summer, he has made the most of his time at the host course. Saturday (and Sunday) he'll get another crack at Pebble Beach, and although he could face some gusty winds as part of the later wave of tee times, I trust his iron play on a course where you need to be dialed in. Plus, you can never underestimate the powerful motivation of a potential gold card at Chipotle. Hovland Under 70.5 (-125) in particular has my attention. Seamus Power It's not often you can win on TOUR with a triple bogey, but the Irishman is hoping to become the latest to overcome a big blunder. His issues came on the par-5 14th hole Thursday at Spyglass, and that triple was a big reason why he carded an even-par 72. But that opener still featured six birdies, and he fired a 7-under 64 Friday at Monterey. Power won earlier this season in Bermuda and has had success at cozy coastal venues like Mayakoba, so this is the type of course where he can find some success. Last year Power led by five shots at this juncture but faded to a T-9 finish. Given his recent form, +900 is a tempting price to get involved under the premise that he's poised to reverse the narrative. Fades Hank Lebioda Lebioda is a great story, and my colleague Ben Everill did well to identify him as a worthy longshot before the week began. But like Kitayama, he's now heading to the hardest of the three courses (Spyglass). The market seems to have a good read on the southpaw: despite being one shot off the lead, Lebioda is priced at +4000 and alongside defending champ Tom Hoge who is currently T-35. If you've got a triple-digit ticket on Lebioda from earlier in the week, there's reason to hope you'll have a sweat come Sunday. But now is not the time to invest if you haven't already. Justin Rose This is just regression to the mean. The wily veteran got every bounce Friday at Spyglass Hill, making an ace on the par-3 15th and catching a huge break off a hillside a few holes later. But the Englishman has battled consistency issues in recent months, and he played his final seven holes in 2 over. Even though he's heading to Monterey, the markets have dropped his price (+1100) accordingly. That's not enough to pique my interest given the fact that his 3-under 69 at Spyglass may have been more smoke and mirrors than the scorecard indicated. *Odds sourced from BetMGM 9:00 p.m. Eastern Friday Responsible sports betting starts with a game plan. Set a budget. Keep it social. Play with friends. Learn the game and know the odds. Play with trusted, licensed operators. CLICK HERE to learn more at HaveAGamePlan.org