Steve Lowery had gone more than seven years and 199 tournaments without winning, a drought that would have continued Sunday at Pebble Beach if not for a stunning collapse by Vijay Singh.
Three shots behind when he stood on the 15th tee, Lowery made up quick ground when Singh made three straight bogeys, then won on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff with a 7-foot birdie. At 47, he became the oldest winner in the 71-year history of the AT ational Pro-Am.
Lowery closed with a 4-under 68 and won for the third time in his career, all of them in playoffs.
Singh recovered from his three bogeys with a wedge that stopped 2 feet away for birdie on the final hole for a 71 to force the playoff. Both players finished at 10-under 278.
But the Fijian's troubles only got worse playing the famous 18th hole at Pebble Beach a second time. His drive found a bunker to the right, and his second shot clipped the top of the bunker, leaving him 192 yards short of the green. A 4-iron for his third shot plugged into the side of another bunker, and he did well to blast out to 8 feet and make par.
Lowery's birdie putt was good all the way, an amazing victory for a variety of reasons, least of all Singh's collapse.
Lowery was No. 305 in the world when he arrived on the Monterey Peninsula. He finished 148th on the money list last year because of a wrist injury, and was given eight tournaments to make $282,558 to keep his card for the rest of the year.
That's no longer a problem. Lowery earned $1.08 million and a two-year exemption, sending Singh home to question whether his retooled swing can hold up under pressure.
The first playoff at Pebble Beach since 1992 didn't even seem remotely possibly when Lowery walked off the 14th green with a bogey. He was three shots behind Singh, who had just hit a brilliant flop shot to 6 feet to save par on the 13th.
Turns out that was a sign of sloppy play that followed.
Singh went at the flag on the 14th with a sand wedge from 92 yards, but it was a tad strong and spun down the slope, and the best he could do was chip to 20 feet and make bogey. He missed the 15th green to the left, chipped weakly and missed an 8-footer for par.
His fairway metal found a bunker off the 16th tee, and Singh powered that shot over the green, down the slope and into the back bunker. He blasted through the green and two-putted for bogey from the fringe to fall into a tie. Singh arrived on the 17th tee in time to watch Lowery hole a 20-foot birdie putt to take the lead, and if not for a couple of fortuitous bounces, Singh might not have been in a position for a playoff.
Singh's 3-foot par putt on the 17th swirled around the inside of the cup before falling, and his tee shot on the 18th was headed for a tree until it bounced off the trunk and deflected to the right. That gave him a clear shot at the green, setting up his wedge to 2 feet.
Dudley Hart, who started the final round tied with Singh, didn't make a birdie until making three in a row at the end for a 72 to finish one shot out of the playoff. He tied for third with John Mallinger (65) and Corey Pavin (66).
Jason Day, the 20-year-old from Australia, finished alone in sixth after a 70...
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My Thoughts
After another amazing golf collapse (we have seen quite a few of these lately) you had to feel a little sorry for Vijay, but Lowery deserved his win as he made the best of the situation!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Lowery wins Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Day 3 Wrap
Defending champion Phil Mickelson bemoaned a woeful putting display after missing the third-round cut by six shots at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Saturday.
Mickelson's title bid fell apart when he ran up a sextuple-bogey 11 on the par-five 14th at Pebble Beach Golf Links but he said the real damage was done by his total of 33 putts.
"That was probably the biggest score I can remember (on one hole) but that's not what really cost me the day or the tournament," the world number two told reporters after carding a six-over-par 78.
"It was missing all those putts because had I had anything go in today, I wouldn't have had to try to force something there at the end.
"I never felt good on the greens and I don't know what the deal is. They were rolling the best that I've ever seen them."
Mickelson hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation and putted for birdie 16 times. However, the only birdie putt he made was from inside two feet at the par-four fourth.
A three-times winner at Pebble Beach, he began the day six strokes off the pace and felt he had to press hard after reaching the turn in one-under 35...
Friday, February 8, 2008
Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Day 2 Wrap
Tim Herron, affectionately nicknamed "Lumpy" due to his physical stature, posted a three-under 69 on Friday to grab the second-round lead of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
He finished at seven-under 137 and is one clear of several players.
Play rotates over Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Poppy Hills over the first three rounds before playing at famed Pebble Beach in the final round. The cut comes after the third round.
J.B. Holmes, the playoff winner last week at the FBR Open, carded a two-under 70 on Friday and is tied for second place with Robert Floyd (70), Michael Allen (70) and Nicholas Thompson (69). That group finished at six-under-par 138.
Defending champion and three-time winner Phil Mickelson, who lost the extra session to Holmes last week, only managed an even-par 72 at Spyglass Hill on Friday. He is tied for 53rd place at minus-one.
Mickelson will have a lot of work to do if he is to catch Herron.
Herron played Poppy Hills on Friday and began on the back nine. He two-putted for a birdie from 16 feet at the par-five 10th, then parred his next six holes.
Herron bogeyed the par-three 17th after a three-putt, but reclaimed the lost stroke with a two-putt birdie at the par-five closing hole.
On the second nine, Herron started with five consecutive pars. He converted a birdie putt at the par-three sixth to get to six-under par for the championship.
Herron grabbed sole possession of first place with a birdie at the par-five ninth. That gave him at least a piece of the 36-hole lead for the 10th time on the PGA Tour and for the first since the 2006 PGA Championship.
"Today I hit it fine," said Herron. "I got actually a couple good breaks off some drives. Other than that, I drove it good. I probably had two or three bad drives."
Herron is a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, but his last victory came at the 2006 Colonial. He is a veteran of the circuit and knows that with 20 players within three of his lead, nothing is guaranteed...
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Preview
The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, an event originally known as the Bing Crosby National Pro-Amateur, or just the Crosby Clambake, is a PGA Tour golf tournament that is held every year at Pebble Beach, California, in the United States. The tournament is typically held during the month of February on three different courses, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Poppy Hills Golf Course and Spyglass Hill Golf Course.
How it works
The starting field consists of 180 professionals and 180 amateurs. One professional is paired with one amateur. Each day, 60 2-man teams will play on one of the three courses. Then on the final day, those professionals and pro-amateur teams making the 54-hole cut will play on the Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Only professionals may compete in the individual competition part of the tournament. Amateurs are restricted to playing only in the pro-amateur team competition. The local Pebble Beach tournament officials handle pairing of professionals with amateurs, while the PGA Tour's weekly tournament officials handle the assignment of tee times.
Last year
Phil Mickelson won by five strokes, closing with a 6-under 66 to match the tournament record of 20-under 268 set by Mark O'Meara in 1997. Mickelson also won the 1998 and 2005 tournaments.This years newsTiger Woods, the 2000 tournament and U.S. Open winner at Pebble Beach, is skipping the event for the sixth straight year. Davis Love III, winner in 2001 and 2003, is returning from a left ankle injury that required surgery to repair torn tendons. Greg Norman is making his first PGA Tour start since the 2006 International.
Interesting Fact
Since its inception only 3 non-US golfers have won this event:
1965 Bruce Crampton
1993 Brett Ogle
