THE SWIFTIE ECONOMY & PEBBLE HALFWAY RECAP - February 14th, 2026

We break down the halfway point at Pebble Beach, where rumors of Taylor Swift drove ticket sales and Akshay Bhatia battles Ryo Hisatsune for the lead.THE SWIFTIE STIMULUS PACKAGERumors of Taylor Swift’s attendance generated an $81,000 spike in ticket sales, but Travis Kelce stole the show inside the ropes. Paired with Keith Mitchell in matching cashmere, Kelce survived a "malnourished" putt and a lucky tree-bounce par save on the first.Highlight: Mitchell nearly aced the 112-yard 7th hole while Kelce brought the "swagger."YOUTH MOVEMENT & RICKIE’S RESURGENCEAkshay Bhatia celebrates his 100th career start with a bogey-free run to co-lead at 15-under alongside Ryo Hisatsune, who is thriving on the tricky Poa annua greens. Meanwhile, Rickie Fowler sits one back, revealing he played through a major shoulder injury last season to keep his card.Stat: Chris Gotterup strung together nine consecutive birdies across two tournaments.RORY’S HOT TAKE & SCOTTIE’S BAD LUCKRory McIlroy made headlines off the course, rejecting the idea of a fifth major by citing the LPGA as a "cautionary tale." On the course, Scottie Scheffler was denied a hole-in-one by a brutal flagstick rejection on the 15th.Fun Fact: A herd of deer went viral for sprinting across the green during the broadcast.Quick HitsSam Burns puts on a putting clinic • Spyglass Hill playing significantly harder than Pebble • Jack Nicklaus built the par-3 5th in 1997 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.