Ryo Hisatsune leads at Pebble Beach and sets remarkable record in doing so

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Ryo Hisatsune may not be a household name on the PGA Tour but he has become somewhat of a fan favourite over the past week.

Hisatsune was right in the mix to win the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale last week and he is now leading after the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, following a sparkling 10-under-par 62.

The 23-year-old carded 10 birdies and eight pars at Pebble Beach on Thursday and he leads by one from Sam Burns and Keegan Bradley.

There is obviously still a long way to go before he can realistically start thinking about winning this week, but he definitely has the golf game needed to do it.

Hisatsune played with his idol Hideki Matsuyama on day three in Phoenix last week and he really impressed his idol.

It’s little wonder why. The young Japanese star is exceptionally talented and once he gets over the line on the PGA Tour with a victory, the floodgates really could open up for him.

However, there are two parts of his game that he will need to brush up on if he is to win this week on the Monterey Peninsula.

Ryo Hisatsune leads at Pebble Beach and sets remarkable record

Hisatsune is playing his 67th PGA Tour event this week.

It’s worth remembering that Scottie Scheffler didn’t win on the PGA Tour until his 70th start.

Hisatsune is definitely trending in the right direction and if he sharpens up his driving and approach play, he will have a great chance of winning at Pebble Beach.

That sounds crazy doesn’t it? He just shot a 10-under-par 62 and I’m suggesting that he needs to sharpen up his driving and iron play!

However, the stats prove that the man from Japan was nowhere near his best off the tee or with his approach shots on day one at Pebble.

According to the brilliant Justin Ray on X, Hisatsune did something on day one at Pebble that has not been done since the inception of ShotLink data in 2004.

“There are well over 300,000 rounds measured by ShotLink since 2004,” Ray explained.

“Ryo Hisatsune today is the only player in that group to lose strokes to the field off the tee, lose strokes on approach shots, and still shoot 62 or lower.“

That is honestly mind-boggling.

The fact that nobody has lost strokes to the field off the tee and on their approach shots and still shot 62 or lower in 22 years is proof that what he has just done is truly extraordinary.

Ryo Hisatsune’s stats from day one of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

While he was not quite at his best with his driver or irons, the Japanese golfer was very strong in one department in particular.

Here are all of his stats from the five key categories during his first round at Pebble Beach on Thursday…

Hisatsune’s putting on day one at Pebble Beach clearly saved the day for him.

He gained more than five strokes on the field on the greens after holing more than 150 feet of putts.

That is simply not sustainable, though. If Hisatsune is to win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he needs to start driving the ball well and hitting his approach shots closer to the hole.