Category: PGA Golf

PEBBLE BEACH, CA – FEBRUARY 12: Jordan Spieth of the United States with Clint Eastwood and the director of Pebble Beach after the final round on February 12, 2017, at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach,CA (Photo by Samuel Stringer/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

By Jeremy Harness

PEBBLE BEACH–Jordan Spieth said Sunday that a final round with a big lead is a situation that a golfer dreams about. That’s exactly the position that he was in, and he converted that to another title.

Spieth entered Sunday’s final round with a six-shot lead, and he was able to put things on cruise control from that point on, making mostly pars and staying out of trouble en route to a rather-easy victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

“This is a bucket-list place to win,” Spieth said. “Here, Augusta National, St. Andrews, I mean there’s only a few in the world. It really feels special. It was amazing walking up to the 18^th green, knowing that we were going to win.

“It’s just such a unique position; I tried to soak it in.”

He birdied the par-5 second hole and then the par-3 17^th, but then parred out the remaining holes, a far cry from the pair of 65’s that he shot in the second and third rounds that earned him the big lead going into Sunday.

Because of the big lead, Spieth said afterwards that the main strategy that he and his caddie discussed was for him to “play boring golf.” He hit 16 of his 18 greens in regulation, his highest total of the entire week, but the putts did not roll in like they did the previous two days. It was enough to win by a nice cushion.

Kelly Kraft made a bit of a run at Spieth, narrowing the lead to three strokes at one point, but even though he fired a five-under 67, it was enough, as he came up four strokes short and wound up with a second-place finish.

However, all was not lost for Kraft. The high finish earned him a spot in next week’s Genesis Open, formerly known as the Northern Trust Open, that is held at Riviera Country Club in the Los Angeles area.

“I would have liked to have made a few more putts on the back nine today to add a little pressure, but I couldn’t make any putts, really, coming down the stretch.

“(But) it was a good day. It was nice to get off to that hot start and kind of set the tone for the day.”

Dustin Johnson, who also made a nice run with a four-under 68, finished in third place with an overall score of 14-under and once again played all week alongside hockey great Wayne Gretzky, who just so happens to be the father of his fiancé, Paulina Gretzky.

“I feel like my game’s in really good shape,” Johnson said. “I’m happy with the way I finished. I felt like I still could have played a lot better. I’m looking forward to the next few weeks.”

 

Jordan Spieth follows his approach shot from off the fairway to the sixth green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links during the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017, in Pebble Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

By Jeremy Harness

PEBBLE BEACH–The weather cleared up immensely, and the temperature got warmer in the process. Jordan Spieth, however, proved to be just as hot as he was the day before.

Spieth started out his third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on a roll, and with the exception of a bogey at the eighth hole, he never really stopped. He finished his third round at Pebble Beach on Saturday with a seven-under 65, identical to his second round at Spyglass Hill.

He birdied the first two holes of the day, and immediately after the lone bogey on his card, he proceeded to run off three birdies in a row at holes nine through 11. To close things out, he made birdies at three of the final four holes, including the iconic 18^th hole that is located right on the Pacific coastline.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better putting day,” Spieth said. “With greens that have a lot of traffic because they have been so soft with this weather, it’s very difficult even to make a putt from four feet.

“I’m certainly grateful of that and recognize that going into tomorrow, that hitting putts with the right speed is key and not letting it get too far away from you and staying very patient when they do miss, because most certainly, you’re going to miss putts inside 10 feet out here.”

He also put himself in prime position to make a lot of birdies on Saturday. For instance, he hit 11 of his 14 fairways as well as hitting 12 of the 18 greens in regulation, ranking in the top-10 in each statistic this week.

And then, there is that putter of his. He only had 23 putts in the third round, and he is second in strokes gained on the field in putting for the week, while he is at the top of the field in putts per green-in-regulation.

When you add it all up, it is a six-stroke lead for the Masters as well as U.S Open titleholder.

Another man who is known for his putter, Brandt Snedeker, who won this tournament two years ago, is also in the mix as the final round will get ready to commence on Sunday. He finished his third round with a five-under 67 and is currently 11-under for the week and is in second place.

“I kept telling myself to be patient,” Snedeker said. “I’m playing good. I got off to kind of a rough start this morning. I made a couple bogeys early, and I knew on the front nine, you can get going.

“But all in all, I kind of fought back today and got myself back in the tournament. I got a chance tomorrow.”

Also getting himself into contention on Saturday was Dustin Johnson, who shot a six-under 66 for his third round to pull within seven strokes of the lead and a tie for the third position. Making the same exact move to the top is Kelly Kraft, with whom Johnson is tied and also fired a 66 at Pebble Beach on Saturday.

“I feel like I’ve been playing pretty solid all three days, and I finally got a few putts to go in today,” Johnson said after his third round. “It’s not easy to get the ball close to the holes, and when you do, it’s hard to make putts.

“But today, I felt like I drove it really well, and I hit a lot of nice, solid iron shots. So it was a pretty stress-free day.”

 

USA team member Jordan Spieth hits off of the 6th tee during day 3 of the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota on October 2, 2016. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

By Jeremy Harness

PEBBLE BEACH – After a day of muddy footing and seemingly never-ending downpour on Thursday, the players who stepped onto the three courses Friday morning were glad to be able to put away their umbrellas for much of the day.

They still had to deal with the residual muddy conditions, but nonetheless, there was a resurgence of low scores at this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and even a little bit of sunshine that is expected to carry on through the weekend.

Also having more prominence was the presence of the familiar big names in the game of golf.

Forced to abandon the final two holes of his first round due to the rainy conditions Thursday afternoon, Jordan Spieth finished up his opening round Friday morning and then began his assault on Spyglass Hill, which is typically the toughest of the three-course rotation of Spyglass, Monterey Peninsula and Pebble Beach but has shown this week to be the easiest due to the large amount of trees that block the wind.

He started the day only one stroke back, but that quickly changed when he made four birdies on the front nine and added four more on the back nine against only one bogey to finish his second round at 10-under par and a tie for the lead.

“I putted a lot better today than I did yesterday, but the conditions were also totally different,” Spieth said after his score of 65 on Friday. “I’m feeling like I’ve been striking it well, and I’ve been trying to do a lot of work with the putter.

“I got into a nice rhythm, and hole started to look big towards the end.”

Good thing for Spieth, because Derek Fathauer also made a big charge to keep up. Starting at the 10^th hole at Pebble Beach Friday morning at two-under, he also recorded four front-nine birdies and then ran off four more – including three in a row – on the back nine to tie Spieth atop the lead.

The day got off to a later start than expected. Play was supposed to begin at 7:30am PST to give players a chance to finish up their opening rounds, but further rainfall and unplayable conditions pushed the start time to an hour later. The first round was not completed until 10:46am, while the second round got under way about 15 minutes earlier.

That was not the end of the delays, however. While play resumed without interruption at the other two courses, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula, it was suspended at Pebble Beach at around 1:30pm PST due to foggy conditions that made the course unplayable.

That delay was short-lived, as play was allowed to resume at 1:43pm.

From that point on, the weather was no longer the biggest issue, and by 3:30pm, the sun began to poke out of the cloud cover, which appears to be a sign of things to come for those heading here for the weekend, when sunny skies are expected in the area.

It then simply became an issue of the players having enough time to finish their rounds, which had really been an issue from the beginning – and a highly-unlikely outcome – due to the later start times on Friday. Play was eventually called at 4:21pm PST due to the re-emergence of fog. However, there were some players, including first-round co-leader Joel Dahmen, who had only finished 11 holes and were probably not going to have enough daylight to finish anyway.

Fathauer, meanwhile, had one more hole to play, which he will now play Saturday morning.

Jon Rahm was another who started to make a run at it as the weather dried out. Starting his day at one-under, he went on a tear in the early going of his second round, making six birdies in a row in the first eight holes of the day at Pebble Beach.

He ran out of steam after that initial onslaught, however, and after a bogey on the back nine, he finished his round with a five-under 67, tying him for 13^th place.

Other notable players who charged their way toward the top included Jason Day, who started the day at two-under but picked up seven birdies, including four consecutive on holes nine through 12. However, that’s when the calling of play slammed the brakes on his day, and he was forced to walk off the course in the third position, unable to make up any more ground.

Play is expected to resume at 7:35am PST, in order to allow players, such as Fathauer and Day, to finish up their second rounds.

Seung-Yul Noh at Spyglass Hill and fired a four under 68 to earn a tie for the lead on Thursday at the AT&T  Pebble Beach Pro Am UPI/Molly Riley

PEBBLE BEACH – Heading into Thursday’s opening round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, rain was expected throughout much of the day, and it was anticipated that it would get heavier in the afternoon hours.

Well, Mother Nature did not disappoint.

Thursday’s action was suspended at 1:37pm PST, as the rain increased and refused to let up. The rain remained consistent throughout the day, and because of this, play was eventually called. The last time play was suspended was in 2014, when a brutal combination of wind and rain caused third-round play to be halted.

Play is expected to begin at 7:30am PST on Friday, with second-round action beginning at 9am, one hour later than originally scheduled.

Because of the expected rain, tee times were moved earlier in the hopes that at least the majority of the field would be able to finish their rounds before matters would eventually be called to a halt.

As it turned out, about half of the players in the field did, in fact, finish, while 81 players are yet to finish their opening rounds.

Atop the leaderboard after Thursday’s proceedings are names that casual fans would not immediately recognize. Seung-Yul Noh, who played alongside San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer, started at 7am at Spyglass Hill and fired a four-under 68 to earn tie for the lead.

“It was tough conditions, especially the back nine, and even starting early in the morning,” Noh said. “It was playing really longer than normal.

“Especially (with) a bogey-free round in these conditions, I’m really happy with that.”

Noh, however, wasn’t even the best player in his group. Rick Lamb matched Noh shot for shot and also finished with a 68. He overcame a bit of a slow start and really started to pick things up in a five-hole stretch beginning at the seventh hole, during which he sank four birdies.

“At first, I didn’t think it was great (that) I had to wake up at 4:15, so we were a little groggy this morning,” Lamb said. “But by the time we got going, it was good, and I think we teed off before the sun actually rose.”

Joel Dahmen made it a three-way tie at the top, as he sank a 15-footer to save par on his 18^th hole, also at Spyglass Hill.

He had three birdies on his front nine against one bogey, and then he went one-under on his back nine and had to wait about 15 minutes for an official to make a ruling before attempting his final putt.

“Not a very good lag putt (to leave 15 feet for the par putt),” Dahmen said. “It was tough. I just was really happy to make that last putt, that’s for sure.”

One stroke behind the lead is Jordan Spieth, who has won the Masters and the U.S Open in his young career. He is currently three-under for his round, but he is one of the players not to have finished his first round.

He had just made birdie at the 16^th hole at Monterey Peninsula Country Club when the stoppage occurred.

 

Actor Bill Murray smiles at the crowd as he waits to hit out of a bunker on the 3rd hole during the AT&T Pro-Am Celebrity Challenge at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017. (Patrick Tehan/Bay Area News) Group)

By Jeremy Harness

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am features players from all over the world, but it does not have a shortage of those who have roots in Northern California.

Among them is Nick Watney, a multiple winner on the PGA Tour who grew up in Dixon, which is midway between the Bay Area and Sacramento who now makes his home in Las Vegas. He sat out most of the 2016 season with a nagging back injury, but he has returned and has begun to pick up a little steam in time for this tournament.

Another Northern California product is James Hahn, an Alameda native who played his college golf at Cal. He had a very nice 2016 season and is currently ranked 61^st this year, but he is perhaps more well-known for his Gangnam Style dance celebration during the Phoenix Open a few years ago.

His best finish of the 2016-17 season thus far came at the CIMB Classic in October, one week after the season-opening Safeway Open, where he finished in ninth place. He followed that up the very next week with a tie for the 15^th spot at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Max Homa is considered to be an up-and-coming player on tour. The Cal product played most of last season on the Web.com Tour, which is the PGA Tour’s minor league, and he earned his PGA Tour card for this season by finishing in the top 25 of the Web.com Tour in 2016.

However, he has gotten off to a slow start to this season, as he has not earned any FedEx Cup points and has not made the cut at all in any of the five events he has played in this season. He did not play in last week’s Phoenix Open but is making his return at Pebble Beach.

The tournament is set to begin Thursday morning, and for the first three days, the players will alternate play between three courses: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula Country Club.

The final round, however, will be played solely at Pebble Beach.

 

Kelly Slater and Jimmy Walker ATandT Pebble Beach Pro-Am Golf Tournament, Chevron Shoot out, USA – 07 Feb 2017 (Rex Features via AP Images)

By Jeremy Harness

Sure, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is an official event on the PGA Tour, and the professionals use this as a springboard to the eventual FedEx Cup title at the end of the season.

But let’s be honest here. There’s a reason why this tournament is considered to be one of the more popular events on the tour’s season schedule: It’s the celebrities that take part in it every year.

The list of celebs that play in this tournament includes everyone from pro athletes from other sports to star musicians to broadcasters. Among such TV stars in this year’s field is Chris Berman, who retired from ESPN following this year’s NFL season.

Speaking of the NFL, there are a pair of quarterbacks with their names in the field, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and Kansas City signal-caller Alex Smith – who started his career with the 49ers before being traded to the Chiefs five years ago.

Among the staples of this tournament, who are credited for bringing in a great deal of the fans each year, include actor Bill Murray – who annually is paired with tour player D.A Points – as well as star musician Huey Lewis, who is from the Bay Area.

There are also some baseball players in this field, who can also swing a golf club pretty well. Josh Donaldson, a former Oakland Athletic who now plays for the Toronto Blue Jays, as well as San Francisco Giants right-hander Matt Cain, who has played in this tournament for the last several years along with teammate Buster Posey, will hit the links this week.

The tournament starts this Thursday, but the weather report does not look very promising however. The forecast calls for rain for each of the first two days of the tournament before it is expected to dry out just in time for the weekend crowds to arrive come Saturday morning.

By Jeremy Harness

AP photo: “It’s been a barrel of fun” The winner of the Safeway Open Brendan Steele holds up the trophy at the 18th hole at the Silverado Resort North Course after winning the Safeway Open on Sunday in Napa

NAPA–Last year, Brendan Steele could not close the deal with the tournament right there for him. He erased all of that on Sunday to come away with the elusive trophy.

It was sweet redemption for Steele, who led after three rounds at the Safeway Open last year but went south in a huge way in the final round en route to a gut-wrenching 76, as Emiliano Grillo took the title in an eventual playoff.

He started the final round five strokes behind the lead but roared back with a score of 65, birdieing each of the final three holes to win his second career PGA Tour event at Silverado Resort and Spa.

“Very cool and awesome to start off the year,” Steele said. “Last year, I struggled down the stretch, and this year, it was the total opposite, and it just feels fantastic to come back like that.

“I really love this event, and Safeway’s done an awesome job this week, and I’m really, really excited about it.”

After getting up and down for birdie at the par-5 16^th, Steele knocked down a 15-footer for birdie at the 17^th, and then used his improved short game to get up and down for another birdie at the par-5 18^th.

“My putting coming down the stretch was really the most important thing, and definitely some wedge-play stuff (was important as well),” Steele said. “I’ve been working on some stuff with (instructor) Dave Pelz that really helped me, with the soft conditions, take spin off the ball and really control my numbers, which is somewhere that I’ve kind of struggled in the past.”

Patton Kizzire used his superior putting to get into contention and was tied for the lead on the back nine. However, his ball striking, which had been a bit of an issue for him all week, eventually let him down and would not allow him to catch up to Steele when he took the lead.

At the par-5 16^th, Kizzire found his tee shot nestled up against a tree, forcing him to hit it sideways back into the fairway with absolutely no shot to the green in regulation.

However, after he found the greenside bunker with his third shot and his ensuing sand shot left him with a 15-footer for his par, he nailed the long putt to keep himself in the hunt, just moments after Steele made his birdie at the 18^th put himself a shot ahead.

Kizzire hit a much-better tee shot at the 17^th and left himself only 100 yards to the green. His wedge attempt, however, fell short of the green and went down the slope another 15 yards. He was able to get up and down for par again.

He had one more chance to catch up, but his tee shot found the rough on the left side and forced him to lay up. His approach shot from 175 yards found the thick rough on the right side, however, and when his ensuing chip shot missed by a foot, the victory was secured for Steele.

“I’m definitely disappointed,” Kizzire said. “That was probably as close as I’ve been to winning, but I’m going to take the positives from it and try to put myself back in a good spot.

“I learned a lot today.”

 

By Jeremy Harness

AP photo: Scotty Piercy takes a walk up the sixth green of Silverado Green North Course at the Safeway Open which tightened up on the top of the leaderboard on Saturday

NAPA, Calif. – When looking at the weather forecast for Saturday, it was not a matter of if the rain was to come down but when. From that point, the question was how long the players would be on the course before they had to be forced off of it.

While most of the players were able to finish, the leaders who started their third rounds in the afternoon, such as Friday’s overall leader Scott Piercy, will have to finish their rounds Sunday morning after increased amounts of rain eventually suspended play.

Unlike the first two days, however, there will be a new leader when play resumes early Sunday morning. Piercy, who is one shot behind at this point after watching his three-shot lead evaporate while a group of players surged to the top of the leaderboard.

“(For) the first 12 holes it was pretty good, and then (at) 13 and 14, it started getting kind of nasty,” said Piercy, who was on the 16^th hole when officials called a halt to the action. “(It was) hard to hold on to the club, and the ball’s squirting off the (club)face.

“It’s too bad we had to stay out there for a little too long, and then, I got to a point where I couldn’t hit the shot I wanted to hit, and so that’s enough.”

Johnson Wagner was one of the guys who charged out in front, and he enters Sunday morning with a one-stroke lead. He started the day three shots behind, but he played the 15 holes that he got in three-under.

“It was so brutal out there the last few holes,” Wagner said. “I was really just trying to survive and make as many pars as I could and just tick them off hole by hole.

“I don’t know how anybody else played, but it was difficult. I never even looked at the leaderboard today.”

Patton Kizzire was one who made a big charge. He sizzled on Saturday, recording five birdies on the front nine without a single bogey, and after a birdie at the 12^th, he was tied for the lead at 15-under. However, a wayward tee shot at the 14^th led to a bogey, he parred the next two holes before play was called for the day.

“After holding an umbrella for a while, your hand gets a little tired, and then you’ve got to step up there and hit a three-footer,” Kizzire said. (But) I played well, managed it.

“I’m not really striking the ball like I can, so that will be something to look forward to (Sunday). But my putter has been my saving grace; I’ve been really rolling it well.”

Piercy finished up his second round Saturday morning and picked up one more stroke, birdieing the par-4 17^th hole to extend his lead to three shots as he began his third round in the afternoon.

“I wanted to make three birdies coming to the (club)house this morning,” Piercy said of the conclusion of his second round Saturday morning. “But I still hit some good shots, hit all the greens in regulation, pretty much hit in every fairway except for one or two.

“Ball striking is solid, (but I’m) just maybe off on a couple of reads (on the green),” he continued. “I really wanted to go make that last (birdie putt on 18), just to get an extra stroke.”

Things began to go south for Piercy as his third round progressed, however. After a birdie at the par-4 fourth hole, his tee shot hit the tree and left him with no clear shot at the green at the sixth, forcing him to take a bogey there.

This was about the time where the expected rain began to fall, and Piercy’s lead got washed out in the process. He kept making pars, however, until the 14^th, where his ball striking again let him down. His approach shot ended up going past the green, and when he failed to get up and down to save par, he fell behind a stroke.

At this point, the rainfall had increased to the point where the officials were forced to decide whether or not to allow play to continue. At 5:43pm PST, the decision was made to suspend play for the day, but they did give players a chance to finish the hole they were playing on at that point.

By Jeremy Harness

AP photo: Scott Piercy walks up the fairway after hitting from the second tee of the Silverado North Course during the second round of the Safeway Open in Napa on Friday

NAPA–With rain coming into the area for Friday’s play at Silverado Resort and Spa, scores were supposed to go up a little bit. In fact, when players were allowed to lift-clean, and place their balls to give themselves a favorable lie on the course, things actually picked up.

After setting a course record with a 10-under 62 during Thursday’s opening round of the Safeway Open, Scott Piercy kept things going in the second round. The 37-year-old did not record a single bogey on Friday and even came through with an eagle on the par-5 ninth hole.

Piercy, however, was not able to get through his entire round. There was a nearly two-hour rain delay that did not allow the players in the field to finish their rounds before the sun went down. As a result, they will finish their second round first thing Saturday morning – given that the weather holds up – and will start their third round later that morning.

According to local weather reports, there is a 30 percent chance of rain as early as 8am PST and will steadily increase well into the afternoon and early evening, so it remains to be seen if the third round will be completed, as delays are expected at this point.

When play resumes Saturday morning, Piercy will pick things up on the 13^th hole and will hope to extend his lead even more. He does have company, though, as Johnson Wagner trails him by only a pair of strokes, picking up five shots in his abbreviated round Friday, as he was able to get through 14 holes before sunset.

One of the rookies on the tour, J.J. Spaun, who made his debut as a full-time PGA Tour player after earning his card by finishing in the top-25 in the Web.com Tour last season, got himself in the mix with a five-under 67 in the second round and is currently tied for seventh place, as he was one of the few players who was able to finish his round before the rain got serious enough for the delays to occur.

Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson is tied for 10^th after shooting a three-under 69 after fighting off two straight bogeys at the first as well as the second holes.

 

By Jeremy Harness

AP photo: Scott Piercy follows a shot below the fairway up onto the green of the Silverado Resort North Course during the first round of the Safeway Open golf tournament Thursday

NAPA–The story of the Safeway Open going into the tournament surrounded the disappointment of the sudden withdrawal of Tiger Woods, leaving many befuddled and scratching their heads.

Scott Piercy, who is not nearly as big a name as Woods, was not flying under the radar at the conclusion of Thursday’s opening-round events, as his blistering round left people’s heads scratching as well.

Piercy certainly had a round to remember on Thursday, posting a 10-under 62, which is good enough for a course record and a two-stroke lead.

Starting on the 10^th hole on Thursday, Piercy got off to a roaring start on his first nine holes, recording six birdies without a single bogey, including five birdies in a six-hole stretch.

He did come back down to earth during his second nine, as he dropped a pair of shots but kept the birdies rolling in.

With bad weather, including heavy rain as early as Friday and possibly through the weekend, getting ready to roll through the area, the key for the players is to get the birdies while the weather is still calm, and that is exactly what Piercy did.

As well as Piercy played, however, only two shots behind him is England’s Paul Casey, who made a big run in this past season’s FedEx Cup playoffs, which concluded only three weeks ago.

He kept himself in the running with a bogey-free 64, a round that featured eight birdies. He only hit six of the 14 fairways on Thursday, but that was easily overshadowed as he hit 17 of the 18 greens in regulation, giving him plenty of birdie opportunities throughout the round.

Meanwhile, another headliner of the week, Phil Mickelson, who was one of the heroes of the Ryder Cup won by Team USA two weeks ago, did not get off to as good a start. He finished his opening round with a three-under 69, which is still good for a tie for 22^nd.

He is currently tied with Emiliano Grillo, who won this tournament last year, also shot a three-under 69.