The Pebble Beach Pro-Am is officially underway, and some of the best golfers on the PGA Tour are active and playing in this signature event. The $20 million purse is what everyone is after, and the winner will get a solid chunk of it. Speaking of the winner, the defending champion is Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy won this event last year in what became a very strong start to the season for him, leading into his career Grand Slam win at The Masters last April. Rory was playing some of the best golf he had ever played, and he is aiming to pick up where he left off last season here at Pebble Beach.

Rory is off to a hot start. He is currently four-under through seven holes, but he started on the back nine. McIlroy began his day with two straight birdies on 10 and 11, followed by an incredible eagle on the Par 5 14th.

Rory hit the ball into the bunker; however, that did not stop him from pulling off a jaw-dropping shot to slide into second place.

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Rory has parred his last two holes, and has fallen on the leaderboard from second to tied for 3rd with lots of gold left to play.

Ryo Hisatsune is playing very well as he is six-under through 10 holes. Si Woo Kim is right behind him at five-under through nine holes. The hottest player in the world right now, even over Scottie Scheffler, is Chris Gotterup. He birdied the first four holes to move into a tie with Rory, and he is three holes behind. There is a good chance that Gotterup puts himself in a position to win his third event of 2026.

Before the event, Rory gave his thoughts on The Players Championship debate being considered for a 5th major.