Prior to the start of the championship, the irons of several top players were deemed to have non-conforming groove dimensions, most notably those of Tom Watson.

Others with non-conforming irons included major winners Raymond Floyd, Hale Irwin, Gary Player, and Tom Weiskopf.

Watson shot an opening round of 68 (−4) with an old set of borrowed irons,[7][8][9] and finished at 286 (−2), four strokes back in a tie for sixth.

[10][11] The fairways at Pebble Beach were extremely dry, due to an extended drought, in its third year in northern California.

[13] Wadkins started the round six strokes back and shot a 70, which included a birdie on the par-5 18th hole to get to six-under for the championship.

Source:[13][14] The sudden-death playoff began on the par-4 first hole, where Wadkins missed the green, chipped from the heavy rough to 20 feet (6 m) and saved par to tie.