SUNDAY • FEBRUARY 11, 2007
The AT&T is a lot of things to a lot of people. But if it’s nothing else, it’s two things to me. It’s fun, and it’s a reminder.
It’s fun to see the amateur stars put their game on display in a forum that is not their forte, and no where near their comfort zone. Somehow, this makes them a bit more mortal than their fame would allow. It’s also fun to watch golf greatness, the professionals, try to meet and coexist somewhere in the middle with golf futility. It can get awkward at times, not unlike the gangly 17-year-old out on his first date, without a clue, and sporting a search light zit.
The reminder is of what Bing Crosby started, the marriage of golf and show biz. It’s also a reminder that charity wins and that this magnificent event, held on the world’s most beautiful stage, could not be accomplished without battalions of dedicated, caring and generous volunteers.
Jawal works 15-hour days at the media parking area making sure only the proper credential gains entry, and always with a smile and a greeting.
Grandpa Neal, a 20+-year veteran of the event, was a media shuttle driver, but switched this year to be a “media meal ticket puncher.” His kindness, charm and warmth are a fixture at the AT&T.
Ken has been at the event for years too. This year, he took it upon himself to retrieve the glasses of one broken down media type with bum knees. The retrieval constituted a jaunt of about “a par 6 distance” in record time, so the said radio host could read his live ad copy. The task was certainly not in his job description.
Personally, the AT&T is the affirmation of how lucky I am. I’m lucky to have nurtured friendships with a plethora of wonderful people from the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, The Pebble Beach Company, the PGA, the NCPGA, CBS, the California Golf Writers Association, Hunter Public Relations, and a host of the aforementioned volunteers.
I treasure my yearly trip to the AT&T, and I think you can see why. Yes, it’s a week long cocktail party, lots of tall stories and the chance to reunite with those who share the passion for golf. It’s recalling stories of happenings in years past, stories that get a little better each year. It’s a week of late nights and early wake up calls. Come the following week, it’s also about three days of recovery time.
Lest you think I take for granted my yearly AT&T experiences, and all of the wonderful friendships I’ve made in the golf industry, let me assure you that they are very high on my list come the fourth Thursday in November.
As I reflect back on the 2007 A T & T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, I see many odd things that happened but in the end the strongest franchise in professional golf showed why it is just that, and another magical week unfolded.
The week started with the threat of a gully-washer of a storm possibly shutting down the weekend. The storm showed some anger, but only for a few hours on Saturday at Pebble Beach and the Crosby broke-out. I suspect the concession stands sold out of umbrellas, but many people may have considered a refund just a few hours later.
It was odd to not have defending champion Aaron Oberholser in the field but he was on site for interviews and some corporate activities. He announced to us his marriage this October, and in another unusual twist, it is not a super model or actress but to LPGA player Angie Rizzo.
The celebrities did their thing to great applaud as usual. Bill Murray has become the mad-hatter with all of us wondering which odd hat he will wear next. This year he wore one with flowers on a straw hat in honor of a friend who recently died.
I watched actor Andy Garcia casually walk the fairways Sunday smoking a cigar looking quite suave. ON the other end of the spectrum was Danny Gans the entertainer from Las Vegas who walked around in an animated state like a cartoon character seemingly looking for somebody to talk to and getting mixed reviews for his many impersonations. I have two thoughts…look for a new partner next year as Rory Sabbatini seemed unimpressed and try decaf…
The pro-am competition had some unique twists, with 6-handicap Michael Watson and his Dad Tom in second place a shot ahead of former 49er Harris Barton and former local junior golfer Chris Molumphy (also a 6-handicap) working for Franklin Fund in the top-10 playing with Jason Dufner who missed the cut.
At the top we find Harry You, an 18-handicap from Dallas, who helped his partner and corporate ally Phil Mickelson win by 19-shots (can you say audit) to win the crystal.
Oh yeah, Lefty wins his 30th tour event in record fashion over local journeymen Kevin Sutherland. It was quite a week.
Tiger Woods was not in attendance (it was something about his schedule of paid appearances and something about the greens at Pebble) but with the strength of the great franchise that we know as the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, all started by Bing Crosby, it will survive and prosper.
Nice job to all that were involved.
Early in the fourth round it was apparent the crowds at Pebble Beach began to see a new Phil Mickelson.
By winning the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, he won his first tournament since last year's Master's and erased possible concerns about his collapse at last year's US Open at Winged Foot becoming a festering problem.
"I believe I'm going to take what happened at Winged Foot and make it a plus for the rest of my career," said Mickelson.
He cited how poorly he drove the ball at Winged Foot and what he needed to do.
"I drove it horribly," said Mickelson. "That's when I realized I needed to fix my driving."
And fix his driving he did.
This week Mickelson tied for fourth in fairways hit with 45 out of 55 of his drives finding the short grass. In his final round, he recorded only one missed fairway on his way to a 66.
Phil bombs the ball, that's an inevitability. But, in addition to his staggering driving distance and ball striking and putting and short game, it appears he fixed his largest problem--putting the ball in the fairway. In the conference room after his win, he beamed with this new found confidence.
"I've never had this type of feeling on the tee box, knowing that it's going to be in the fairway and not worrying about it," said Mickelson.
Mickelson's final round partner, Kevin Sutherland, saw this in action all day Sunday.
"If he is driving the ball like that right down the middle of the fairway, there is not a player in the world that is not going to have a hard time beating him," said Sutherland.
Sutherland appeared to be Mickelson's best competition on the last day. But, Phil was too tough coming down the stretch.
Sutherland tried to get himself back into the mix with two key birdies on the back nine, only to see Phil equal him. On the par 4 10th, Sutherland dropped a chip from the back of the green to briefly erase Mickelson's lead to two strokes. To Sutherland's dismay, Phil calmly made his sixteen footer to keep his lead at three. On the par 4 15th, it was more of the same. Sutherland made his 24 foot birdie putt, only to watch Mickelson make his five footer.
This tournament could foreshadow a new Phil, but don't expect him to become Joe Durant and hit 80% of his fairways.
"I will never lead the stat in driving accuracy. Let's not overdo this."
It appears that Tiger Woods will not play next week at the Nissan PGA-Tour stop in Los Angeles. This was the first PGA-Tour event that Tiger played in as a teenager, and it is one of the few PGA-Tour events Tiger has not won. It leads to speculation that he is concerned about keeping his winning streak alive, which is now at 7, in pursuit of the eleven in a row streak by Byron Nelson. In further speculation, it may be that there was a Lamaz class that conflicted. In breaking news... there is speculation that Nissan and Buick may merge before next week, so Tiger would consider playing.
George Lopez: When asked Thursday what his main concerns were as the event began, "I'm worried about getting my $400 pants muddy..."
Tom Dreesen the comedian who opened for Frank Sinatra for 14 years helped produce a party for all of the volunteers. Dreesen actually said that Sinatra closed his shows. Kevin Costner sang a song, and the show included Hootie and the Blow Fish, Michael Bolton and comic relief from Kevin James and Ray Romano. The volunteer party has been a big hit for years for the hundreds who give their time every year.
Michael Bolton performed in Monterey this week to members of the Armed Forces that are stationed in the Monterey Area.
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