Thomas Detry left Torrey Pines last week with a sour taste in his mouth. He had contended for most of the championship, but struggled to close out his third and final rounds with success.
The exact opposite happened on Thursday at Spyglass Hill, where Detry finished birdie-birdie-birdie to shoot a 9-under 63. He has a one-shot lead over Patrick Cantlay at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
“I felt like I was driving it great out there,” Detry said of Thursday’s round. “I didn’t really have any misses. I drove it far as well. The rough is wet and heavy, so you’ve got to be in the fairways, which paid off, to be honest.”
Detry found 11-of-14 fairways, including the 18th.
But he made a massive mistake on Spyglass Hill’s final hole. He pushed his approach shot to the right of the green, and his ball found the gnarly, damp rough. A tough up-and-down loomed.
The Belgian then chipped in for birdie, which vaulted him into the lead by himself.
Thomas Detry chips in to take the solo lead!!!
He was in jail to the right of the 18th green, but got out of there scot-free.
He is -9 now, and will head to Pebble Beach on Friday with a one shot lead over Cantlay. #PebbleBeachProAm pic.twitter.com/OaK1eLsshN
— Playing Through (@_PlayingThrough) February 2, 2024
“The greens are soft; it was an uphill lie; I felt pretty comfortable I would put it within three feet, to be honest,” Detry said of his chip-in.
“And it rolled nicely, just trickled in the hole. It was lovely to watch… The approach shot wasn’t that great; I felt like I didn’t hit my short irons that well today. I mean, it was still pretty good; I’m not going to complain. I shot 9-under; it was a great round of golf.”
Last week, Detry started the championship with a 6-under 66. He then carded a 4-under 68 for his second round and found himself playing in the final group for the third round.
Then, on Friday, he dunked his third shot into the pond short of the 18th green on Torrey Pines’ South Course. That seemed to have crushed his confidence going into Saturday’s final round, and Detry ultimately finished in a tie for 20th.
“I’m not going to lie; last weekend was a tough pill to swallow. I played some great golf, and I didn’t have the finish I wanted to,” Detry said.
“I was in contention the whole weekend except for the last five or six holes. So I’m happy that I didn’t let it affect me. So I was able to build up on that good play, keep building up on that confidence, and hopefully keep the momentum going for the next couple of years.”
Thankfully for Detry, he did not walk off Spyglass Hill Thursday feeling down. Instead, his confidence has returned as he leads the second Signature Event of the season after the opening round.
Talk about bouncing back, and he did so thanks to a spectacular finish—an impressive accomplishment, knowing how last week panned out.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
