2018 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Big charge in final holes pays off for Fresno’s Kevin Chappell

It’s an acknowledged fact that things start getting serious at Pebble Beach Golf Links when you are on the ocean holes – four through ten, seventeen and eighteen. Kevin Chappell, a 10-year pro from Fresno, California, felt the bite of those seaside holes in Saturday’s third round, when a double-bogey on #4, the scenic par-4 fronting Stillwater Cove, put his chances of making the cut in jeopardy.

Kevin Chappell sinks a birdie putt on the 6th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links in the third round of the 2018 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the first in a string of four birdies that cemented his advancement to the final round.

Chappell came into the third round 2-under, and after starting on #10, improved to 3-under with a birdie at #14, the long par-5 with a dining-room-table sized green, in the midst of a string of pars. A tough three-putt bogey at the first hole dropped him back to 2-under before getting the stroke back with a birdie at #2, another par-5.

After a par at #3, Chappell found a left-side fairway bunker off the tee at #4, then overshot the green with his second, leading to a penalty and a drop in the native area behind a bunker. A chip from the long grass and two putts added up to six, and all of a sudden he was in the hole with a lot of territory to make up as the cut hovered around at 3- or 4-under.

After parring the picturesque par-3 fifth hole, Chappell faced a tough closing stretch, six through nine. His second shot ran through the green, but a delicate chip to 18 inches and a birdie putt started him off right. A tight approach at #7, the iconic short par-3 on the very tip of Arrowhead Point, led to another birdie – back to red numbers for the round and 3-under for the tournament.

Number eight, the dramatic cliffside par-4 which Jack Nicklaus calls “the greatest second shot in golf”, saw Chappell above the hole with a short, but testy, downhill putt – never a comfortable proposition at Pebble Beach. The ball slid in for another birdie, getting him over the line to play on Sunday – tough work over three unforgiving golf holes.

With Sunday play fairly well in hand, Chappell took on the toughest par-4 on the course, the most difficult hole in the stretch that golf scribe Dan Jenkins calls “Abalone Corner” – 7 through 10. Smoking a 345-yard drive to great position right of center in the fairway, he stiffed his 141-yard second shot to a yard above the hole, sinking the birdie putt with (apparent) casual aplomb to add a bit of cushion to his bid for Sunday play.

By the time the final scores were in the cut stood at 3-under, and Chappell was in for Sunday with a two-stroke cushion.

Chappell has made the cut six times now in nine appearances at Pebble Beach. The UCLA graduate’s best finish in the event is a T-6 in 2009, his first appearance in the tournament. That finish was a big boost, he says, due in large part to the financial freedom it gave him. “It allowed me to go chasing Monday qualifiers out here; I ended up getting status on the Web.com (Tour) through those Monday qualifiers, and the next year I parlayed that into a Tour card.”

Chappell will tee off Sunday morning at 7:45, again from #10 tee, in a group with Sam Saunders (Arnold Palmer’s grandson) and his amateur partner Brian Ferris, and 2015 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am champion Brandt Snedeker.