Round 4 - Ted Potter wins AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

February 11, 2018

Ted Potter got off to a hot start for the second straight day en route to a closing round of 69 to capture the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am tournament by three strokes on Sunday.

Potter found his groove this week in the California sunshine as he has bounced back from a broken ankle in 2014 to record just his second win on the USPGA Tour and first in five years.

Potter maintained his deft touch on Sunday to finish with a 17-under 270 total and hold off a star-studded chasing pack that included Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Jason Day of Australia.

"It is pleasing," Potter said. "I struggled when broke I my ankle. You don't know what is going to happen with your golf swing or your career. To come back from that it is unbelievable right now."

Mickelson, who shot a five-under 67, Day (70), Johnson (72) and Chez Reavie (68) finished in a tie for second at 14-under 273.

American Kevin Streelman (68) finished alone in sixth and Scott Stallings (66) was seventh at 12-under 275, five shots adrift of Potter.

Potter's only prior USPGA Tour win came at the Greenbrier Classic back in 2012. In 2014, he broke his ankle in a freak accident stepping off a curb. The injury required surgery and he has battled back since, earning his PGA Tour card via the Web.com Tour last season.

"It feels so good right now," he said. "I get my second career win after five years away from it."

Potter shot a 62 on Saturday, grabbing the solo lead with four birdies on his back nine. But it was on the front nine that he really sizzled, playing the first seven holes in seven-under par with five birdies and an eagle.

On Sunday, he drained four birdies in his first seven holes to extend his lead. That included a birdie chip from the rough on the par-three seventh hole.

His only blemish Sunday was a three-putt bogey on is first hole but after that it was smooth sailing the rest of the way.

Johnson was hoping for a victory this week to strengthen his grip on his world number one ranking.

He closed with a birdie on 18 on Sunday for his fourth of the round. Johnson, who was going for his second straight win having won by eight strokes at Kapalua to start the season, also had four bogeys and 10 pars to finish at 14-under 273 total.

"I felt like I played OK," Johnson said. "A few bad iron shots cost me. It is still a good week and finishing tied for second is not terrible."

Johnson is hoping to defend his title next week when the tour travels to Los Angeles for the Genesis Open at the Riviera Country Club.

"My game is in pretty good form and I have a golf course I really like playing next week," he said.

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Round 3 - Johnson & Potter Jr. tied at top of leaderboard

February 10, 2018

Dustin Johnson rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt at the 18th on Saturday to grab a share of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am lead with Ted Potter Jr., who flirted with a 59.

World number one Johnson fired an eagle and four birdies in his two-under par 70 at Pebble Beach Golf Links, one of three tournaments in use for the first three rounds of the PGA Tour event.

Potter was chasing history at the par-71 Monterey Peninsula layout, where he teed off on 10 and played his first seven holes in seven under par with five birdies and an eagle.

Potter added four more birdies after the turn to seize the solo lead and take his total for the round to 11-under. He needed one more birdie to post just the 10th sub-60 round ever on the US PGA Tour.

But he closed with back-to-back bogeys to settle for a nine-under 62 and a share of the lead with Johnson on 14-under 201.

Potter's only prior US PGA Tour win came at the Greenbrier Classic back in 2012. In 2014 he broke his right ankle in a freak accident stepping off a curb. The injury required surgery and he has battled back since, earning his PGA Tour card via the Web.com Tour last season.

On Sunday he'll be in the hunt along with Johnson -- who opened 2018 with a dominant victory in the Tournament of Champions last month -- and former world number one Jason Day of Australia.

Day, winner at Torrey Pines two weeks ago, had six birdies in a three-under par 69 at Pebble Beach for a 12-under total of 203.

He was tied with Troy Merritt who signed for a 69 at Monterrey Peninsula.

World number two Jon Rahm of Spain fired a 70 at the par-72 Spyglass Hill to head a group on 204 that also included Steve Stricker (70) and Patrick Rodgers (69).

Johnson was quick out of the blocks with an eagle at the par-five second hole. After a bogey at the third, he rolled in birdies at the fourth, sixth and seventh -- where he drained a 28-footer to get to 16-under for the tournament.

But things got tougher coming in, with bogeys at 10, 12 and 17 before he regained a share of the lead with his closing birdie.

"I got off to a really good start," Johnson said. "Even played pretty well on the back nine, had a lot of good looks at some nice birdies and hit good putts that just didn't go in.

"The couple of bogeys that I made were kind of just poor. The wind was a little bit tricky and I just got on the wrong side of the holes.

"All in all," he added, "I feel good about the game. I've got a lot of confidence going into tomorrow."

Putting troubles derailed Rory McIlroy's first Pebble Beach National Pro-Am bid as the Northern Ireland star failed to make the cut.

With five birdies and five bogeys, McIlroy's even par 72 at Pebble Beach left him one-under for the tournament and outside the cutline by two strokes.

"I hit some really good shots," McIlroy said. "I just needed a few putts to fall."

Round 2 - Dustin Johnson fires 64 to tie for lead

February 09, 2018

World number one Dustin Johnson fired eight birdies in a seven-under par 64 on Friday to grab a share of the second-round lead alongside rookie Beau Hossler at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Johnson, playing on the par-71 Monterey Peninsula course, one of three in use for the tournament, had just one bogey as he gained ground on overnight co-leader Hossler.

Hossler, who played the par-72 Spyglass Hill, had five birdies in a five-under 67 that put him on 12-under as well.

The leading duo were two strokes in front of Julian Suri, who carded a four-under 67 at Monterey Peninsula to get to 10-under and Troy Merritt, who shot a five-under 67 at Spyglass Hill.

Johnson, who opened the year with a victory at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii last month, teed off on the 10th hole at Monterey Peninsula and birdied his first three holes. He followed his lone bogey of the day with back-to-back birdies at 16 and 17, and picked up three more birdies coming in.

"Kind of the same as yesterday," Johnson said. "I just felt like I played really solid, hit a lot of really good shots, hit a lot of good putts and it was a pretty easy day."

Johnson said he's approaching the form that saw him win three straight tournaments early last year before he fell on some stairs and hurt his back as he prepared to tee it up in the Masters.

"The game's really close," Johnson said. "I don't know if it's quite as good as it was during that stretch. That was probably some of the best golf I've played in my career, but parts of the game are just as good."

Five-time major-winner Phil Mickelson, a four-time winner in the tournament that teams amateurs from the world of big business, sports and celebrity with the pros, put himself in the mix for the weekend with a bogey-free 65 at Monterey Peninsula that left him tied for fifth on nine-under par.

"I am having fun," said the 47-year-old American, who is seeking a 43rd US PGA Tour title and his first since the 2013 British Open.

He hit nine of 13 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation but said he expected a tougher challenge when he plays the par-72 Pebble Beach Golf Links on Saturday.

"I think Pebble's a little bit tougher because the greens are a little firmer and smaller," he said "But if you play well, you can birdie and score low on all three (courses)."

World number two Jon Rahm of Spain had five birdies without a bogey in his five-under par 67 at Pebble Beach on Friday. That put him alongside Mickelson in the group of six players sharing fifth place on nine-under, which also included former world number one Jason Day who posted a six-under 65 at Monterey Peninsula.

Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy, playing the tournament for the first time, was five-under for the tournament through 13 holes of the second round when disaster struck at Monterey Peninsula's driveable par-four fifth -- his 14th hole of the day.

He nearly drove the green and putted his eagle attempt to within 10 feet. But he needed four more putts from there, recording a double-bogey on the hole. He added two more bogeys on the way to a three-over 74.

He was one-under for the tournament, with work to do on Saturday to make the 54-hole cut.

Round 1 - Streelman & Hossler take opening lead at AT&T Pro-Am

February 08, 2018

World number one Dustin Johnson got off to a hot start, but it was Kevin Streelman and Beau Hossler who shared the first-round lead on seven-under par on Thursday at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Streelman had seven birdies without a bogey in his 65 at par-72 Spyglass Hill, one of three courses in use for the tournament. Hossler nabbed seven birdies at par-72 Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Matt Kuchar and Julian Suri were in a three-way tie for third after posting matching 66s at Spyglass Hill, with Aaron Mise also getting to six-under at the par-71 Monterey Peninsula.

"Getting out first was nice," said Streelman, a two-time winner on the US PGA Tour who hit 12 of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens -- and managed to get up and down at all seven of the greens he missed. "Drove it nice and put it on the greens and made a lot of putts."

Hossler, 22, said his day was "for the most part stress-free".

"I hit a lot of greens, had a lot of pretty good looks at birdie," Hossler said. "I stuck to a relatively conservative game plan but was able to get a couple of long putts to go in at the end."

Johnson, winner of the event in 2009 and 2010, birdied five of his first 11 holes at Spyglass, finishing with six birdies and a bogey in a five-under 67 that left him two shots off the lead.

The world number one, playing his first US PGA Tour event since winning the Tournament of Champions last month, played alongside defending champion Jordan Spieth, who had one birdie and one bogey in an even par 72 that left him well off the pace in a tie for 98th place.

Northern Ireland's world number eight Rory McIlroy had six birdies and two bogeys in his four-under 68 at Spyglass.

McIlroy is making his first appearance in the tournament in which celebrity and corporate executive amateurs play alongside the pros.

He teed it up with his father, Gerry McIlroy, and called the experience "awesome".

They played in a group with five-time major-winner Phil Mickelson, who made the turn two-over after three bogeys and a birdie on the front nine, but birdied five of his last eight en route to a three-under 69.

"It was a nice way to finish after not getting off to a great start," said Mickelson. "I was able to get back in it."

Celebrity participants like actor Bill Murray, ice hockey great Wayne Gretzky, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and World Series-winning Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander give the Pro-Am it's unique, festive flavor.

But plenty of serious golf business remains, including world number two Jon Rahm's bid to overtake Johnson atop the world rankings.

Spain's Rahm played Monterey Peninsula on Thursday and birdied his last three holes to sign for a four-under par 67.

Scores