Pebble Beach

Phil Mickelson took all the thrills out of Pebble Beach, and that was just fine by him. Despite back-to-back bogeys that gave the final round yesterday about 5 minutes of intrigue, Mickelson won for the second straight week by closing with a 1-over 73 to become the first wire-to-wire winner in the 68-year history of the Pebble Beach (Calif.) National Pro-Am. The only thing he didn't do on a cold, damp day along the Pacific was set the tournament scoring record. Mickelson finished at 19-under 269, missing by one shot the record set 7 years ago by Mark O'Meara.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Brandt Snedeker didn't have to take a back seat to anyone at Pebble Beach. A runner-up to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson the last two weeks, Snedeker finished off a command performance Sunday with a 7-under 65 for a 2-shot victory over Chris Kirk in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Snedeker tapped in for par on the 18th hole to finish at 19-under 267, setting the tournament record at Pebble Beach. Kirk closed with a 64, though he never got closer than 2 shots.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Charlie Wi played bogey-free at Spyglass Hill for a 3-under 69 to build a 3-shot lead Saturday in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Tiger Woods ran off five birdies in a six-hole stretch early in his round and had a 5-under 67 that put him 4 shots behind going into the final round, the closest he has been to the 54-hole lead in a regular PGA Tour event since the 2010 Masters. Wi, winless in 162 previous PGA Tour events, was at 15-under 199. Phil Mickelson managed to stay in contention despite playing the par 5s at Pebble Beach in 1-over par. He saved par on the 18th for a 70. That put him in a tie for fourth, 6 shots behind.

Lanny Wadkins chipped in for a birdie on the final hole to take a 1-shot lead over Payne Stewart yesterday after two rounds of the $600,000 Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in Pebble Beach, Calif. Wadkins finished with 2 birdies for a 3-under-par 69 at tough Spyglass Hill and completed 36 holes in 137, 7 under par. "I've hit the ball close a lot," Wadkins said, "and I've been driving it right down the middle. Actually, it's been a pretty easy 7 under. " First-round leader Rex Caldwell went 11 shots higher than his opening 67 and was well back at 145. Included in his 78 was an 8 on the final hole, where his 3d shot bounced off a tree, hit his caddy and caused a 2-shot penalty.

PEBBLE BEACH is one of those places every golfer should get to at least once. Just because. Other than Augusta National, most people have seen Pebble more than any course. Because, like Augusta, there's a tournament there every year. And, like Augusta, it's rather photo-friendly. At Pebble, the meeting of land and water is simply one of a kind. Not all the holes are set along Carmel Bay, but the ones that are make this what it is. I was lucky enough to play there on the day after the 1992 Open.

Jim Booros, an Allentown pro who had to requalify for the PGA tour last fall, finished off a 67 with birdies on the last three holes yesterday to earn a share of the first-round lead in the $700,000 Pebble Beach National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, Calif. "I can't believe I played the back in 30," Booros said after his round at Pebble Beach, one of three courses used for the first three rounds of this event. Booros is tied with Mark Calcavecchia and Jim Gallagher, both of whom played Cypress Point.

Payne Stewart, battling the frustration of slow play and the annoyance of clicking cameras, scored a 3-under-par 69 yesterday to take a 2-shot lead after three rounds of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in Pebble Beach, Calif. "I guess I'm stuck on that number," said Stewart, who has shot 69 on each of three Monterey Peninsula courses. West Germany's Bernhard Langer shot a 68 at Cypress Point, which put him in a tie for second at 209 with Lanny Wadkins and Scotland's Sandy Lyle.

Johnny Miller, a star in another era, rolled back the years with a come- from-behind 66 that gave him a 1-stroke victory over Payne Stewart yesterday in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, Calif. "It's been a long time since I was able to come down the last fairway in contention," said Miller, 39, who hadn't won on the PGA tour since capturing the 1983 Inverrary Classic. "This is my favorite place to play golf in the whole world," he said of the picturesque Pebble Beach course, which stretches 6,799 yards along the cliffs and crags of Carmel Bay. "To be able to get in contention, then make that putt on 18, is a great thrill for me, a dream come true.

Rex Caldwell, who got into the field only on a sponsor's exemption, shot a no-bogey, 5-under-par 67 for a 1-shot lead yesterday after the first round of the $600,000 Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in Pebble Beach, Calif. At 68, 4 under par, were former British Open champion Sandy Lyle of Scotland, Lanny Wadkins, Tom Byrum and John Adams. Wadkins and Lyle played at Spyglass Hill, probably the most difficult of the three courses, while Adams and Byrum were at Pebble Beach. "Without the sponsor's exemption, I wouldn't be here," said Caldwell, who lost his place on the all-exempt PGA Tour when he finished a distant 149th on the 1986 money-winning list.

One in a series of articles getting you ready for the U.S. Open at Merion, June 13-16.     SO, 2010 U.S. OPEN champion Graeme McDowell, what did you know about Ardmore's Merion Golf Club before you played it last year? "[Ben] Hogan, 1 iron," he said, with a sheepish smile. "That's it. " He's likely not alone. The Open hasn't been back to Merion - which has hosted more USGA events (18) than any other venue, most recently the 2009 Walker Cup - in 32 years. That means there's an entire generation of players and fans who really don't know much about the course that was ranked sixth (up one spot)

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Brandt Snedeker didn't have to take a back seat to anyone at Pebble Beach. A runner-up to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson the last two weeks, Snedeker finished off a command performance Sunday with a 7-under 65 for a 2-shot victory over Chris Kirk in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Snedeker tapped in for par on the 18th hole to finish at 19-under 267, setting the tournament record at Pebble Beach. Kirk closed with a 64, though he never got closer than 2 shots.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Brandt Snedeker goes into the weekend at Pebble Beach with another chance to win, this time without golf's biggest stars in his way. He played bogey-free at tough Spyglass Hill on Friday for a 4-under 68 to gain a share of the lead with Ted Potter Jr. in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Both were at 8-under 134. Snedeker leads the FedEx Cup standings without having won a tournament. He was runner-up the last two weeks - 4 shots behind Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines, and then 4 shots behind Phil Mickelson in the Phoenix Open.

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. - Rookie Ted Potter Jr. made a four-foot birdie putt on the third hole of a playoff with Troy Kelly on Sunday to win the Greenbrier Classic for his first PGA Tour victory. Ranked 218th in the world, Potter overcame a 4-stroke deficit with four holes to play, finishing with his second straight 6-under 64 to match Kelly at 16 under. Kelly closed with a 66. Charlie Wi and rookie Charlie Beljan tied for third at 14 under on the Old White TPC. Wi shot a 65, and Beljan had a 67.   Champions Tour PEBBLE BEACH, Calif.

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. - Webb Simpson likes the way he's avoiding bogeys and figures he'll need to play smart again at the Greenbrier Classic to get his second win in three tournaments. The U.S. Open champion shot a 5-under 65 in the third round Saturday to take a 2-stroke lead into the final round. Simpson had his second straight bogey-free round to reach 14 under on the Greenbrier Resort's Old White TPC Course. Troy Kelly was second after a 62. Rookie Charlie Beljan, J.B. Holmes, and Ken Duke were 11 under.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Tiger Woods keeps saying his game is close. Standing on the 18th green at Pebble Beach, he never looked so far away. With the red sleeves from his shirt sticking out from a black vest, Woods could only watch Sunday as Phil Mickelson made one more birdie putt for an 8-under 64, the final touch of a 6-shot comeback to win the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The white scoreboard behind the 18th green was telling. The first stunner was seeing Mickelson go from a 6-shot deficit to a 2-shot lead in just six holes.

HE KNEW HIS game was getting close, and he broke through with flair yesterday in the Pebble Beach (Calif.) National Pro-Am. That turned out to be Phil Mickelson, not Tiger Woods. In a big, big way. Mickelson went from a six-shot deficit to a two-shot lead in just six holes, closed with an 8-under 64 for a two-shot victory over Charlie Wi and gave Woods a Sunday thrashing not many saw coming. Mickelson and Woods played in the second-to-last group, and Mickelson beat him by 11 shots.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Charlie Wi played bogey-free at Spyglass Hill for a 3-under 69 to build a 3-shot lead Saturday in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Tiger Woods ran off five birdies in a six-hole stretch early in his round and had a 5-under 67 that put him 4 shots behind going into the final round, the closest he has been to the 54-hole lead in a regular PGA Tour event since the 2010 Masters. Wi, winless in 162 previous PGA Tour events, was at 15-under 199. Phil Mickelson managed to stay in contention despite playing the par 5s at Pebble Beach in 1-over par. He saved par on the 18th for a 70. That put him in a tie for fourth, 6 shots behind.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Dustin Johnson pitched in for eagle on the third hole at Pebble Beach and wound up with a 9-under 63, part of a three-way tie atop the leader board in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Charlie Wi made par on his last three holes for a 9-under 61 at Monterey Peninsula, and former U.S. Amateur champion Danny Lee had a 9-under 63 at Pebble Beach. Tiger Woods made a solid start to his PGA Tour season at Spyglass Hill. He made six birdies in a round of 4-under 68, leaving him in a tie for 15th after the opening round.

KAPALUA, Hawaii - Tiger Woods is returning to the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for the first time in 10 years. Woods made it official Monday with an announcement on his website that he would start his PGA Tour season Feb. 9-12 at Pebble Beach, where he rallied from a 5-shot deficit in the final round to win in 2000 for his sixth consecutive PGA Tour victory. He is best associated with Pebble Beach for his record 15-shot victory in the U.S. Open later that year. The tournament sponsor is AT&T, which also sponsors the PGA Tour event that benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation.