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. - 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.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - The last time he walked onto the 18th green of a U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, Tiger Woods hoisted the trophy and celebrated the most lopsided victory ever in the national championship. Ten years later, Woods is back at one of the most beautiful venues in golf but not bearing much resemblance to the dominant player who left in 2000 with his first of three U.S. Open titles. The winner of 14 major championships, four off the hallowed record of Jack Nicklaus, Woods spent nearly five months away from competition to deal with a shattered personal life brought about by infidelity.

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.

U.S. Golf Courses From Golf Digest's 2011-12 ranking of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses: 1. Augusta National Augusta, Ga. 2. Pine Valley Pine Valley, Camden County 3. Shinnecock Hills Southampton, N.Y. 4. Oakmont Oakmont, Pa. 5. Cypress Point Pebble Beach, Calif. 6. Pebble Beach Pebble Beach, Calif. 7. Merion Ardmore, Delaware County 8. Winged Foot Mamaroneck, N.Y. 9. Sand Hills Mullen, Neb. 10. National Golf Links Southampton, N.Y. SOURCE: Associatd Press

A member of The First Tee Philadelphia will get a chance to compete with fellow juniors and mingle with players on the Champions Tour in the Home Care & Hospice First Tee Open beginning Friday in Pebble Beach, Calif. Louis Kelly, 17, of Sewell, N.J., who is entering his senior year at Gloucester County Institute of Technology, will be paired with Champions Tour professional Greg Bruckner in the first round of the seventh annual event. The team will play Friday at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Saturday at nearby Del Monte Golf Course.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Tom Watson fought back tears Sunday as he walked up the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach Golf Links for what in all likelihood was his final hole at the U.S. Open. Watson, the winner here in 1982 and the only player to compete in all five Opens contested at Pebble Beach, wound up his 31st Open with a 5-over-par 76 and a 72-hole score of 285. "The crowd was just wonderful, they gave me nice ovations at every hole," Watson said. "There's a lot of sadness today.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - The last time Phil Mickelson didn't make a birdie during a U.S. Open round was the first day in 2007 at Oakmont, where he opened with a 74 and proceeded to miss the cut. Yesterday, at Pebble Beach Golf Links, the only guy who has a chance to win the Grand Slam this season went birdie-less once again. This time, he carded a 4-over-par 75 that left him down but not necessarily out of the USGA's 110th national championship. At least not yet. "I just putted horrific," Mickelson said after his highest first round of a U.S. Open in 13 years.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Once, in what seems like another lifetime, Lee Westwood was, well, the Rory McIlroy of his day. The next big-time British golfer. Or so it appeared. Funny how that stuff can often take detours. He'd won seven tournaments across the globe in 1998, four more in 1999 and seven others in 2000. And rose to fourth in the world rankings. It was just a matter of time until he became Nick Faldo. Then, it pretty much went poof. By the end of 2002, he was No. 181. He had to reinvent his game.