Dustin Johnson：64 stokes lead the Pebble

Dustin Johnson wanted to be sure that he made it good as the defending champion of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. He succeeded Thursday with a glorious finish.
 

Johnson closed with five consecutive birdies with a 30 on the back nine, tying the tournament record. He finished with an 8-under 64 and was atop the leader board.
 

J.B. Holmes finished eagle-birdie at Pebble Beach for a 7-under 65, an unusual streak that began by holing out an 8-iron on the par-4 eighth hole over the edge of the Pacific Ocean. K.J. Choi also had a 65 at Pebble Beach.
 

The most famous of the three courses was the best place to be in such serene conditions. If wind and rain is in the forecast — anything is possible in these parts — it's best to get Pebble out of the way.
 

"It's one of the best places you want to be when it's good weather," Johnson said. "It's so pretty, too. It's a fun place to be."
 

He reached the front edge of the green on the 573-yard 14th hole, setting up a chip and a putt to start his birdie run. It's always good to have length, and Johnson used that to his advantage. He was worried momentarily when he pulled his 3-wood toward the out-of-bounds stake, safe by some 20 feet and leaving him a sand wedge that he hit inside 6 feet. Johnson finished with another big drive that left him only a 3-iron to the middle of the par-5 18th green.
 

But it was a 7-iron that left him the most pleased.
 

Johnson had 169 yards to the hole, typically an 8-iron. But with the pin to the back right, he tried to protect against too much spin down the slope. Instead, he hit what Johnson called a "chip 7-iron" that settled about 6 feet away.
 

He called it "one of the better swings."
 

Charley Hoffman had a 6-under 64 on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula.
 

Phil Mickelson finished a 68 at Monterey Peninsula. He said it was one of his favorites now on tour.