Saturday at the AT&T Pro-Am is two days in one

The unique format of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which is played on three golf courses, dictates a major difference between this event and your standard, week-to-week Tour event: Saturday becomes cut day and moving day in one. Factor in the differences in level of difficulty between the courses – weather being equal, hardest to easiest: Spyglass Hill, Pebble, MPCC; and throw in the fact that Pebble is more likely to get windy, and is more affected by the wind, and Saturday becomes a real crap-shoot when it comes to predicting how the field will shake out at the end of the day on Saturday.

One could have been excused, then, for being only cautiously optimistic about 36-hole leader Nick Taylor’s chances of retaining the lead after 54 holes, with similar caution applied to Jason Day’s second-place position – each played MPCC and Pebble over the first two days in pristine conditions, and Spyglass Hill on Saturday. Phil Mickelson, who closed out 36 holes in solo third place, got there by way of Spyglass and MPCC, in that order, landing that sweet pick that puts him on Pebble for back-to-back rounds on Saturday and Sunday.

A third round at Spyglass has quashed more than one player’s chances over the years, but neither Day nor Taylor showed any signs of being slowed down by the Robert Trent Jones course about which Jack Nicklaus famously said, “…it makes you want to go fishing.”

Starting on the par-4 tenth hole at Spyglass, Taylor faltered early with an opening bogey and another at #13, a 460-yard par 4 that is the #1 handicap hole on the course, but recovered quickly with birdies at the 17th, second, and fifth holes, then put a little distance between himself and his big-name pursuers with an eagle-3 on the 549-yard par-five seventh hole. The Winnipeg native brought it to the house with a 3-under third round for a 17-under 54-hole total, which turned out to be good enough to retain his lead going into the final round.

Jason Day slipped back slightly while finishing at Spyglass Hill, carding a two-under 70, offsetting four birdies with two bogeys. He finished his Saturday in solo third at 14-under after having held a share of the lead earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, over at Pebble Beach, Phil Mickelson was being Phil, opening his round with a pair of birdies at holes one and two, then notching another bird at the par-5 sixth hole. Despite its daunting aspect, with a second shot that has to negotiate a looming cliff for a blind approach shot, has played easier than any other hole on the course in this year’s tournament.

The real “Phil-the Thrill” fireworks began at the next hole, the world-famous seventh, a jewel-like par-3 perched out on the tip of Arrowhead Point. His frankly mediocre tee shot caromed off the more-than-usually-firm putting surface into a fried-egg lie in the back bunker. Squaring up with a wedge, Mickelson hit a low pitch shot that would have run well past the flag if it hadn’t checked in the rough short of the green; instead, it pulled up at kick-in range for a par save that people will be talking about for quite a while.

After three pars to close out the front nine at 33, Mickelson continued with pars at 10 and 11 before making a slight misstep at the par-3 twelfth, landing in the front bunker, wedging out and two-putting for bogey.

At 13, the recently renovated 407-yard par-4, his tee shot went wide left, his second landed in the left-front bunker, followed by a highlight-reel chip-in for birdie. Similar drama followed at the next hole, the intimidating 582-yard par-5 fourteenth. Wide left off the tee – again, Mickelson’s second found the fairway some 90 yards short of the green. Coming up short when his approach checked up short of the flag and rolled back to below the false front of the green, his fourth, a back-foot chip-and-run drew a beeline for the hole, rattling the flagstick to drop in for his second consecutive birdie.

After par out of a left-of-the-fairway bunker on the fifteenth hole, a routine par at the sixteenth and a disappointing two-putt par from nine feet at the second most famous par-three on the course, #17, Phil found trouble right (for a change) with his second shot at the eighteenth hole.

After getting relief from an obstruction in the wood chips right of the green, he fired a skyhook flop shot that rolled past the hole by inches; he then drained the 4-1/2-foot putt for another birdie. After hitting nine of fourteen fairways, nine of eighteen greens and only 22 putts, Mickelson closed with a 5-under 67 to finish in solo second at 16 under.

Today’s round puts Mickelson in great shape to renew his oldest-winner title, and to share the back-to-back winner title with Sam Snead (1937, 1938), Jack Nicklaus (1972, 1973), Tom Watson (19777, 1978), Mark O’Meara (1989, 1990), and Dustin Johnson (2009, 2010). Most significantly, a win on Sunday will put Mickelson in sole possession of the “Most Wins in the AT&T Pro-am” title.

Mickelson and his amateur partner, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young, are second in the Pro-Am contest going into the final round, behind Kevin Streelman and his amateur partner, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. They will tee off with third-round leader Nick Taylor and amateur partner Jerry Tarde, editor-in-chief of Golf Digest magazine, Sunday morning at Pebble Beach.

Friday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am – Big Names, Big Moves

Friday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is different than Friday at almost any other PGA Tour event, and it’s not just about the amateurs in the field, a mix of high-powered business folks and figures from the entertainment world. What sets Friday at the AT&T apart can be seen from the official leaderboard – there’s no cut line.

Having three courses in the tournament rota means that the cut comes after three days of play, so that every pairing plays each course. Of course, a three-day cut means there is only one day left to make a move up the leaderboard – so, the golf gods giveth and the golf gods taketh away.

The upside of this format is the opportunity to play a bucket-list lineup of Monterey Peninsula golf courses – Spyglass Hill, the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, and, of course, Pebble Beach, with the added treat of playing Pebble again on Sunday if you make the cut.

The downside of the format is… well, when the weather is as nice as it has been this week, there is no downside.

While Friday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am doesn’t have the cutline pressure of a standard tournament, some well-known names made big moves up the leaderboard today regardless.

Phil Mickelson, who already holds one record at the event – oldest champion, from his 2019 win at age 48; and co-holds another – most victories, at five, which he shares with Mark O’Meara, posted a seven under 64 at MPCC to move up nine places into solo third place after 36 holes. Mickelson went out in four-under 33, starting on the tenth hole of the Shore Course, and opened his second nine with a four-birdie run, only to stumble at the close with a bogey on his last hole, the par-three 9th.

Jason Day, who has been flying under the radar in recent years with health problems and personal issues, made his move – ten places, to solo second – playing at Pebble Beach today.

“I love everything about Pebble and the landscape that all  three courses are on. The people are great up here, so I    really enjoy my time every time I come back here.”

– Jason Day

After a first-round 67 at MPCC, Day carded an eight-under round today at Pebble Beach on the strength of six birdies, and an eagle on the long par-five 14th hole, where he chipped in from the apron short of the green. With the eagle on 14, and three birdies, the former World #1 romped to a five-under 31 on Pebble’s back nine. His eight-under 64 equals his best tournament round on the course.

Two-time (2009 & 2010) AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am champion Dustin Johnson jumped 18 places up the leaderboard to T6 with a six under 65 at MPCC; an unfortunate bogey on his last hole, the par-three ninth, dropped him out of a potential T4 finish.

Canadian Nick Taylor posted a 6-under 66 playing at Pebble Beach today, and will sleep on a 36-hole lead.

Pebble Beach, Monterey Peninsula showcased by glorious weather on Day 1 of 2020 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

Do you hear that? It’s the sound of Monterey/Carmel real estate prices rising as a worldwide television audience is treated to views of Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill, and Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Shore Course in gorgeous, Chamber-of-Commerce weather on Day 1 of the 2020 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The vista of these three immaculately prepared courses under a brilliant, jewel-blue California sky is sure to have well-heeled residents of the storm-ridden, snowbound portions of the country looking to their 401K’s, calling their brokers, and checking real estate listings. But when I say well-heeled, I mean it – the median price of a home in Monterey hovers just under $800k; in Carmel it’s just north of $1.3M.

But enough about real estate, let’s talk about golf. The clear, calm weather that is producing the awe-inspiring views here in the Del Monte Forest is also allowing the players in the field to put up some impressive scores.

Canadian Nick Taylor parlayed a windless day on the easier of the three courses in the tournament rota into an eight-under 63 and the 18-hole lead. Playing MPCC back-side/front-side, the 31-year-old native of Winnipeg opened with an eagle-three on the par-5 tenth hole, then went on to card a pair of birdies before making the turn. He then bookended the front nine with matching pairs of birdies to close out the opening-round lead in his seventh appearance in this event.

Asked about the closing birdies, Taylor noted, “Finished with two great shots, a 5-iron and 3-iron on the last two holes to set up two birdies there; … 5-iron into 8, 3-iron off nine tee, the par-3.”

“This is one of my favorite events of the year every year. You just can’t beat these three golf courses; they’re so fun to play.”

Patrick Cantlay, the SoCal phenom who fought back from back issues early in his pro career, rode a roller coaster around Spyglass Hill today – alternating birdies and bogies for the first five holes, then lighting up the back nine with five birdies against one bogey, posting a first-round 66 (6-under) on the acknowledged most-difficult course in the tournament rota.

Six-under rounds were also put up on Pebble Beach and MPCC Shore by Chase Seiffert and Harry Higgs, respectively.

Harold Varner III, who is making his first appearance at Pebble Beach since playing in the Champions Tour First Tee event 13 years ago, posted a 5-under round at Pebble Beach, carding three birdies a side, with a lone bogey on #12, the longest par-three on the course – and a deceptively difficult hole that has stunned more than one player over the years.

Another half-dozen players closed out their first round at five-under, including former Cal Men’s golf player Max Homa and Stockton native Ricky Barnes.

Former Stanford Men’s Golf star Maverick McNealy opened strong at Pebble Beach, carding three birdies on the front nine, but went a little flat on the second nine with no birdies, a bogey on the 11th hole, and a four-putt double-bogey seven on the 18th – a disappointing effort that was made even more painful by the two-foot bogey putt that horseshoed around the hole to leave an 18-incher for double. McNealy goes into the second round at even par.

San Jose’s Joseph Bramlett, another player who has battled back problems early in his career, closed in even-par 71 at MPCC Shore, with two bogies per side against a total of five birdies.

Second-round play starts Friday at 8:00 AM, with the weather forecast calling for continued clear and slightly cooler conditions.

When It Comes to the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, John Hawkins Doesn’t Get It

Earlier this week Morning Read pundit John Hawkins posted an opinion piece about the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am entitled “Pebble Beach deserves better fate with PGA Tour”, in which he opined “A golf tournament at Pebble Beach in February is like Christmas in June”. The gist of the article is that this magnificent seaside venue deserves better than to be saddled with a February slot in the schedule and a hit-and-giggle pro-am. Among his suggestions? Make Pebble Beach the venue for the Tour Championship, in August.

After the statement above, Hawkins went on to write, “…instead of hosting a premium event in glorious conditions on prime-time television, Pebble peddles a Saturday full of Bill Murray in a multi-venue pro-am featuring some of the most inclement weather known to golfkind.”

Let me say this right now – Hawkins hasn’t got a clue. He tries to spin the piece as if he is suggesting improvements to better showcase this iconic venue, but what he doesn’t get, among other things, are the traditions of the event.

The Pebble Beach Pro-Am, in its original incarnation as the “Crosby Clambake”, originated the pro-am format, and still defines it. The event started in 1937 at the San Diego-area’s Rancho Santa Fe Golf course when Bing Crosby got a few golf pros and entertainment-business friends together to play golf and raise money for local charities. The original “Clambake” went into hibernation in 1942 due to the onset of World War II, and was revived in the familiar Monterey Peninsula location in 1947. 

Another prominent California-based pro-am golf tournament, the Palm Springs-area event now known as the Desert Classic, is a copy-cat that got its start when Crosby’s “road movie” co-star Bob Hope decided that he wanted to host a pro-am tourney of his own. It’s a tried-and-true formula that draws legions of spectators. You wouldn’t want to see it every week, but a time or two per year, it’s fun.

Another of Hawkins’ gripes is the weather during the event. Originally played in mid- January, the weather was known to sometimes be… tempestuous – not for nothing is the term “Crosby weather” a Monterey-area shorthand for wind and rain – and yes, there was a snow delay in 1962.

The tournament bounced around within the month of January over the years in search of better weather before settling into its current early-to-mid February time slot in 1979. The weather can still be problematic – witness last year’s delay due to a brief but intense hailstorm, which forced that bane of golf writers everywhere, a Monday finish – but compared to the weather patterns that dominate most of the continental United States in February, the Central California coast generally serves up the kind of enviable conditions that put smiles on the faces of the local Chamber of Commerce, and realtors.

One of Hawkins’ suggestions is to move the Tour Championship, with its late-August time slot, to Pebble Beach, fleeing the heat and humidity of Atlanta, or as he put it: “Playing for $15 million in gleaming August twilight on golf’s largest postcard turns common sense into the ultimate no-brainer.” While it’s true that the Monterey area serves up weather that’s much preferable to Atlanta’s late-summer conditions, the summer months tend toward overcast on the California coast, so – and as a native of the area I say this with love – his “gleaming August twilight” is more likely to be a gloomy, gradual dimming instead.

That summertime gloom is the reason that the PGA Tour Champions event that is held at Pebble and nearby Poppy Hills (home course of the Northern California Golf Association), the PURE Insurance Championship Benefitting the First Tee, moved from June back to its original September time slot a few years ago.

Hawkins’ ultimate proposal is to reposition the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am back-to-back with the First Tee event. This idea has as its first drawback an untenable logistics problem; as its second, a diminishing of the event by moving it into the former Fall Tour portion of the schedule; as its third, a potential conflict with the Safeway Open, an established early-season event held at the Silverado Resort in the Napa wine country, three hours north of Pebble Beach; and last but not least, a major loss of revenue for the resort resulting from shutting down for two weeks during its best-weather high season period.

The bottom line is that Hawkins’ opinion piece displays a comprehensive level of ignorance of the essence of this event. It may no longer be the glamorous “Clambake” of old (Bing’s widow sold the tournament to AT&T in 1986, deleting the Crosby name over son-and-tournament-director Nathaniel’s objections) – but the weather, which even in rainy (or worse) conditions cannot completely disguise the beauty of the locale, and the pro-am format, with its slow rounds, ugly swings, and sometimes silly behavior (I’m talking about you, Bill Murray…) are hallmarks of the event.

Any significant change to the tournament, whether a time slot move or a change in format, would compromise the history and traditions of an event which holds a unique opposition in the PGA Tour’s parade of week-to-week, cookie cutter tournaments.