It’s February, and that means once again the PGA Tour will make a stop in Monterrey, California for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. First held in 1937 by Bing Crosby and dubbed the “Clambake,” the event has become infamous for its huge draw of top pros and A-list celebrities. The field of amateur-pro teams will compete on three different courses for the first three days: Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, and Poppy Hills. After Saturday’s round, the low 60 pros and low 25 amateur/pro teams will compete for the title at Pebble Beach. Vijay Singh, last years champion, will be defending his title. However, the field is loaded with other big names such as FBR Open winner Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III, Mike Weir, Jim Furyk, and Fred Couples.
Many golf legends such as Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods have added their names to the winners list. However, few would argue that the king of the event is Mark O’Meara who has won the event five times in his career. O’Meara will be in the field again this year looking to add a sixth trophy to his collection.
Even without the championship golf, this event would still draw huge galleries because of all the celebrities. Actors, musicians, and athletes alike come to entertain fans with their haphazard antics and awkward golf swings. Some of the names scheduled to appear include: George Lopez, Andy Garcia, Samuel L. Jackson, and Emmit Smith just to name a few. After a one year absence while filming Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, fan favorite Bill Murray (an admitted fifteen handicap) will bring his trademark humor and crazy outfits back to the course which in itself is reason enough to watch.
The famous par-5 18th hole at Pebble beach has undergone some unscheduled remodeling earlier this year when heavy rains caused 8 feet of the left hand rough to slide into the Pacific Ocean. While the missing land is significant, it is roughly 280 yards from the championship tees which means that only the longest hitters trying to make up ground by cutting the dogleg will be affected. At any rate, expect the tournament to be very competitive and very entertaining.
TV times are as follows:
Thu (2/10) 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET USA Fri (2/11) 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET USA Sat (2/12) 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET CBS Sun (2/13) 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET CBS
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