Points Eagles Win at Pebble Beach

D.A. Points wins AT&T

D.A. Points won for the first time on the PGA TOUR and wasn't even the biggest star. That's what made this Pebble Beach National Pro-Am so special.

Points grew up idolising Bill Murray, whether it was his "Caddyshack" role as the assistant greenskeeper at Bushwood or his antics at Pebble Beach over the years. To have him as an amateur partner made this week great before it even started.

Then came Sunday, when Points holed out from 100 yards for eagle on the diabolical 14th at Pebble Beach to take the lead. That carried him to a 5-under 67 and a two-shot victory. Making it even sweeter, they won the pro-am title, a first for Murray, who now gets his name on the wall below the first tee.

This really was a Cinderella story.

"It's a dream come true," Points said. "To win on the PGA TOUR, and especially at Pebble Beach, and especially with Bill Murray ... I don't think I could dream this up."

Indeed, it was surreal at times.

One shot behind and facing the scariest shot at Pebble Beach that doesn't involve the Pacific Ocean, Points hit a gap wedge that barely cleared the bunker on the par-5 14th, landed in the first cut of rough and trickled down the slope and into the hole. He followed that with a bending, 30-foot birdie putt for a two-stroke lead that made Murray laugh because he didn't know what else to do.

And when Points felt his greatest pressure, he had some comic relief of his own.

He faced a 6-foot par putt on the 16th hole, and when his caddie asked him how he felt, Points replied, "Not very good." That's when he decided to take a page from Murray. As his partner stood over a long putt, Points hollered at him, "The crowd would be really happy if you could make that."

The gallery roared with laughter. Murray narrowly missed. More importantly, Points made his putt and sailed home with easy pars.

"It totally took me out of the moment for just enough to kind of help bring me back to life a little bit," Points said.

Hunter Mahan shot a 31 on the front nine and twice was tied for the lead on the back nine. He birdied the 17th with a tee shot inside 3 feet, then reached the par-5 18th in two. But he three-putted for par, missing a 4-foot birdie putt.

Ultimately, it didn't matter. Mahan closed with a 66 and wound up alone in second, two shots behind.

Steve Marino, who had a one-shot lead going into the final round, never caught up after Points made his eagle from the 14th fairway. Marino missed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 16th to get within one, then slammed his driver to the turf on the 18th when his tee shot sailed into a bunker to the right.

Marino hit his third shot into the ocean and made a triple-bogey 8 that mattered only in his bank account. Not making a par to share second place was the difference of $327,200.

Tom Gillis closed with a 70 and finished alone in third.

Points and Murray won the pro-am tournament by two shots. The trophy was locked up with Points' par on the 18th when Murray announced his "big putt" that was meaningless. He then mimicked some dialogue from the "Cinderella Story" scene in Caddyshack, when Murray swatted at flowers with his scythe and imagined the greenskeeper on the verge of winning the Masters.

"It's in the hole!!!!"

Not quite. As the putt headed toward the cup, Murray jogged over to tap it while it was still moving, then thrust his arms in the air.

"The only chance D.A. had to win was if I could make it through the entire week without ever asking what the initials 'D.A.' stand for," Murray said. "And I didn't. And he's the champion."

In case he cares, they stand for Darren Andrews.

Murray also won the pro-am title in the Pebble Beach event on the Champions Tour with Scott Simpson, his longtime partner at Pebble Beach who played the straight man to Murray's routine.

It's not always easy playing with Murray, who constantly engages the crowd and bought ice cream bars for them on the back nine.

Some of his previous partners have quietly asked that someone else play with Murray.

Points was all too happy.

"Everybody all week kept saying, 'You got the short end of the stick,'" Points said. "I never, ever felt that way. I tried to embrace it. He just seemed to have fun, and he taught me to go ahead and have a little more fun. And in turn, it distracted me from trying so hard. It kept me loose and having a good time with Bill."

Is this a new tandem?

"I'm thinking of turning pro," Murray said. "I probably won't. It's really nice to play with a gentleman. He's a good person. He's from Illinois. He's Lincoln-esque in stature and unfailingly polite."

Points showed that as he walked off the 18th green and said to the gallery, "Everyone, thank you for coming."

Points started the final round two shots out of the lead, stayed in range and was flawless on the back nine. His big run started with an 8-foot birdie on the 10th hole, and then came his magical run.

For the second straight year, the pivotal hole at Pebble Beach turned out to be the 14th -- this time for a good score. A year ago, Paul Goydos, Bryce Molder and Alex Prugh all had a chance to win until they made 9s on the par 5.

A few groups earlier, Phil Mickelson hit a 64-degree wedge that landed a foot on the green and rolled off to the left, down the slope. Points hit a gap wedge that was perfect, because it had to be. The ball landed in the first cut of rough, hopped onto the green and had just enough spin to slow to a trickle as it dropped.

His only mistake on the back nine was the chest-bump he tried to execute with Murray. They ran toward each other, and Points began to leap as Murray was landing. It looked bad, but it was an eagle 3 on the card.

Equally important was the birdie that followed, and Points was on his way.

He won for the first time in 128 starts on the PGA TOUR. This earned him $1.134 million -- more than he has made in any of his previous four seasons on TOUR -- a two-year exemption and his first trip to Masters.

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am Final Scores

Garrigus Withdraws from Pebble Beach

Robert Garrigus

Robert Garrigus withdrew prior to the start of Sunday’s fourth round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Garrigus was suffering from a bout with high blood pressure. He was 7 under, which was just five strokes off the lead, but will now receive last place money. 

Later @robertgarrigus tweeted that he was feeling much better: Well I feel fine now but I defiantly was in no shape to play golf this morning but I should be good for la thanks for all the well wishes.

Snapshot of the Day - Bill Murray

Actor Bill Murray waits to hit on the 8th hole during the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am at the Pebble Beach Golf Links on February 12, 2011 in Pebble Beach, California.

Steve Marino Holds on at AT&T Pro Am

Steve Marino at Pebble Beach on Saturday

The best break for Steve Marino might have come moments after he finished his round Saturday at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, nowhere near where he had just three-putted from 4 feet for a bogey.

Across the Del Monte Forest, where the crowds gathered in sunshine to watch the celebrity show at Pebble Beach, D.A. Points had a chance to catch Marino atop the leaderboard with a birdie on the par-5 18th. Instead, he couldn't escape a fairway bunker and took bogey, which made a difference in the Sunday pairings.

A big difference.

That final hole is what kept Points and his amateur partner -- Bill Murray -- from joining Marino in the final group.

"That would have been a trip," Marino said. "I don't know about that."

Despite his struggles on the green, Marino had a 1-over 71 at Monterey Peninsula and had a one-shot lead over Jimmy Walker, who had a 63 at Monterey Peninsula, and Bryce Molder, who had a 68 at Spyglass Hill while playing before a gallery of about a dozen.

Points shot 71 and was another shot behind.

Marino couldn't imagine trying to win his first PGA TOUR event while playing alongside the assistant head greenskeeper at Bushwood, the famous role Murray played in "Caddyshack."

What's there to worry about?

All Murray did Saturday was wear an Elmer Fudd hat (to signal that he and Points were in the hunt). As Points faced a short birdie putt on the second hole, Murray offered him a bite of his doughnut if he made it.

Late in the round on the par-3 17th, Murray playfully tossed it to a young girl in the bunker. And after Points made a birdie, Murray and Points held hands and jumped into the bunker.

"He gave everybody Ben and Jerry's ice cream bars on 17," Points said. "He did plenty of stuff. It doesn't really bother me. I hope he does it tomorrow. I'll be interested to see what the guys we play with tomorrow feel about it, but it doesn't bother me."

Marino doesn't have to worry about it.

He was at 12-under 202 and will be in the final group with his partner, Irish amateur Dermot Desmond, and Walker.

Molder and amateur Harry You, who have a one-shot lead in the pro-am portion of the tournament, will be in the second-to-last group with Points and Murray, who are one shot behind.

The four players atop the leaderboard have as many PGA TOUR victories as Murray, which would be none.

Marino might be the most tested, having lost in a playoff at Colonial a year ago and finishing with one of the best shots of the young season at the Sony Open last month in Honolulu to finish second.

"I felt like I've had the game to win out here for a while," Marino said. "It just hasn't happened. I'm not going to say that I'm due. But I feel like I'm good enough to win on this TOUR."

Marino was not too bothered by a round that featured a trio of three-putt bogeys, an unplayable lie from a bush and an eagle. He said he hit the ball better than he has all week, but could not get used to the pace of the greens on the Shore course.

"A strange round," he said.

Alex Cejka and Tom Gillis were at 9-under 205, while the group another shot back included J.J. Henry, Kevin Sutherland and Aaron Baddeley. They were the only players in the top 10 on the leaderboard who have won on TOUR.

Molder has some experience being in contention, although he is trying to bury part of that memory. A year ago at Pebble Beach, he was closing in on the lead when he took a quintuple-bogey 9 on the 14th hole. Two other players also made 9 on that hole, which is quickly growing a reputation as one of the toughest par 5s on TOUR without a water hazard.

"I don't remember what you're talking about," Molder said with a grin. "You know, all you can do is laugh. I got there this year (on Thursday) and made a mess of it, had a good up-and-down for bogey."

Phil Mickelson moved into contention for a fourth title at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am by making three birdies over his final five holes for a 69. That moved him to 7-under 207, only five shots back going into the final round.

"I thought that the round could have been a lot better, but toward the end ... I probably got as much out of the round as I could have," Mickelson said. "But throughout the course of the day, I had many opportunities to go low and I didn't take advantage of them. I've got to go really low tomorrow to give myself a chance."

That was all Mickelson had time to say. He rushed off to the airport to fly home to San Diego for daughter Sophia's dance recital.

Only three times in the last 20 years has a player won the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for this first PGA TOUR victory, the last one being Arron Oberholser in 2006.

They might not be rookies, but not many of them have been tested.

"I was talking to my coach, and he says, 'Don't do anything different tonight than if you were 50th or missing the cut,'" Walker said.

Marino isn't sure that matters.

"All these guys are good," he said. "Everybody is going to get their experience somewhere, and for some people, it might be tomorrow."

It figures to be crowded Sunday, inside and outside the ropes.

Because the top 20 pro-am teams play the final round, the cut is top 60 and ties. However, 73 players finished at 2-under 212. That includes two-time defending champion Dustin Johnson, who had to make a 3-foot par putt on the 18th at Pebble to make the cut.

David Duval opened his tournament with no birdies and a 77 at Pebble Beach, but he rallies with rounds of 65 and 70 to make it on the number. Perhaps even more impressive was Jeff Maggert, who opened with 75-74 and shot 62 at Monterey Peninsula.

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am Leader board Round 3

Marino Extends Pebble Beach Lead

Steve Marino and caddy at Pebble Beach

Steve Marino is too busy soaking in the scenery and atmosphere at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am to get worked up over his four-shot lead going into the weekend.

Marino made only one mistake -- with his conversation and his clubs -- on the par-5 14th for his only bogey of the tournament. He followed with three birdies over the last four holes for a 7-under 66 and a comfortable lead.

"This tournament is kind of strange," said Marino, who was at 13-under 141. "You play a different course every day. You're playing with amateur partners. It's a little more low key and laid back."

That's just the way Marino likes it, and it shows. He has the low round of the tournament on both courses he has played, having opened with a 65 at Spyglass Hill.

D.A. Points doesn't have that luxury, not with Bill Murray as his amateur partner. Points struggled from the start at Spyglass Hill and was slipping down the leaderboard until running off four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn. He salvaged a 70 and was four shots behind at 9-under par.

Points worried for a moment that Murray started to feel the pressure -- they opened the pro-am portion tied for the lead -- and perhaps tried to tone down his antics.

"Bill was struggling a little today, so he was maybe down on himself," Points said. "We still had a great time."

Next up for the celebrity rotation is Pebble Beach on Saturday, when the show is as much about the amateurs as the pros. Points says he plays his best when there are plenty of distractions, although he's not about to wish for more than he can handle.

"I'm not going to feed the beast," he said.

Keegan Bradley had an impressive gallery of his own. He is the nephew of LPGA Hall of Famer Pat Bradley, who followed him along Spyglass as the rookie shot a 69 to finish at 8-under par. Bradley was born in 1986, the year his famous aunt won three of four majors.

"Pat and I have a lot of similarities in our game, in our approach to the game, our work ethic," he said. "I look up to her in a lot of different ways, and that's one of the ways. I try to emulate her toughness and work ethic."

The large group at 7-under par included Padraig Harrington, who played with Marino; Hunter Mahan, Nick Watney and Sam Saunders, whose grandfather is among the owners of Pebble Beach -- Arnold Palmer.

Even with a four-shot lead, Marino won't know until Sunday how he really stands because of the three courses in the rotation. Still ahead of him is the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula, where Points opened with a 63. The fairways are running fast at the Shore, and some players have said the greens are a little bumpy.

That didn't stop David Duval on Friday. After opening with a birdie-free 77 at Pebble, he followed that with a 65 at Monterey Peninsula.

Dustin Johnson, trying to become the first player to win three straight times at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, is more interested in making the cut. He had a 1-under at Spyglass Hill and was two shots below the projected playing cut -- not to mention 13 shots behind Marino.

Phil Mickelson did a much better job with a 68 at Spyglass, moving him to 3 under for the tournament.

Marino, though, looks tough to beat at the moment.

He knocked in a 15-foot birdie putt on the 13th, then made a mental error. After he and Harrington hit their tee shots on the 14th, they started reminiscing about the U.S. Open last summer, when the 14th was one of the toughest holes at Pebble Beach.

"It was silly," Harrington said. "We were talking about how tough this was at the U.S. Open, and that we both had made four pars and could have sold that to half the field. And then we both made a mess of it."

Marino was in the right rough after his second shot, still a good angle at the flag. But his wedge ran up the ledge of the steep bunker and turned left instead of right, tumbling into the sand. He did well to blast out to 12 feet and narrowly missed the par putt.

Harrington hit a fat shot with his sand wedge and plugged into the bunker. He hit a beautiful shot, running up the side of the bunker to see how it turned out just as it ran off the back of the green and down the slope. He had to scramble for a bogey on his way to a 68, a round he felt was much better than his score.

The Irishman made pars the rest of the way. Marino poured it on.

He stuffed his next shot into 5 feet for birdie, rolled in a 20-foot putt up the slope on the 16th and finished with a bunker shot to 15 feet and one last birdie.

Along the way, Marino soaked up spectacular views of yet another sunny, mild day along the Pacific.

He is the only American in an otherwise all-Irish group that features businessmen J.P. McManus and Dermot Desmond. Marino still isn't sure how he got invited to the McManus charity pro-am event last year -- an event so popular that even Tiger Woods made the trip -- but calls it one of the best weeks of the year.

"I think he had a good time," Desmond said. "He seems to be Irish. He's always smiling, and at the same time he has a fantastic golf game. He's got a great temperament. Even when he bogeyed the 14th, he didn't get irritated. He just said, 'I have to get that one back.' And he got it back."

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am leaderboard

Cejka Steals Show at Pebble Beach

Kevin Costner at Pebble Beach

D.A. Points knew it was going to be a great week at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am when he found out Bill Murray was his amateur partner. It got even better on Thursday.

Points found Murray's antics to be more amusing than annoying, and it showed in his play. With eight birdies on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula, he opened with a 7-under 63 and shared the lead with Steve Marino.

Some might think he shot a 63 despite having Murray in his ear all day. Points says he shot 63 because of him.

"I know people talk about his antics, or he's a showman while he's out there, making lots of comments and talking while people are getting ready to hit shots," Points said. "To be honest, it really loosens me up and makes me between shots not be grinding so hard on what I'm doing. It helps me take a little bit of a breather between shots and joke around with him."

There was plenty to enjoy for most everyone on a glorious day on the peninsula, with only a mild breeze to accompany views that were as spectacular as ever. Beyond the weather, the conditions on three courses were as good as they have ever been. The fairways were particularly firm on the Shore Course, and the greens were fast everywhere.

The rounds took six hours, as usual, but some of that was because of the speed of the greens.

Marino had a most unusual 7-under 65 at Spyglass Hill in that he failed to birdie any of the par 5s. He still managed seven birdies, including a big drive and a wedge to inside a foot on his final hole. The green is elevated, and Marino only knew it was good when a woman began shrieking after it checked up close to the pin.

"I think your mother likes it," Mark Long, the caddie for amateur Dermot Desmond, called back to Marino.

Even more pleasing to Marino was the 9-iron he hit on the previous hole, the par-4 eighth, that took one hop and hit the pin before settling about 8 feet away. A year ago on Spyglass, he holed out with an 8-iron.

The best shot of the day belonged to Alex Cejka, who was one shot behind after a 64 on the Shore Course. He started his day by holing out a 3-wood from the fairway on the par-5 10th. The PGA TOUR checked its records as far back as 1982 and could not find another player who had started a round with an albatross.

"I think it was the best start I've ever had," Cejka said in somewhat of an understatement.

It was a chilly start to the day, and he figured he would need a little extra club from 240 yards away, so he choked down on a 3-wood.

"It carried just short of the green and bounced up and took a break toward the hole," Cejka said. "There were like three or four marshals up there and they started screaming, and suddenly it was in the hole. It's the first one for me."

The group at 5 under included Gary Woodland, whose 67 was the best score at Pebble Beach.

Most of the screaming took place on the Shore Course, its second year in the rotation for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and already one of the favourites. That's where the celebrity rotation began the tournament, and the crowd followed.

Phil Mickelson didn't provide too many highlights, opening with a 1-over 71. Dustin Johnson, trying to become the first player since this tournament began in 1937 to win three successive years, made bogeys on two par 5s and had to settle for a 71.

For Points, there were a few trying moments. On the par-3 14th, Murray and former San Francisco 49ers tackle Harris Barton both made long birdie putts. Then it was Points' turn.

"I got up over my putt and he started talking to me about he just made a putt, and how Harris just made a putt, and how easy this should be," Points said.

He three-putted for his only bogey.

"It didn't bother me at all," he said. "I just hit two bad putts."

Nothing could stress him out on his day -- beautiful weather, a partner he always wanted. A year ago, Points was excited to be drawn with Mickelson and Rickie Fowler at Torrey Pines, and with Tiger Woods at Aronomink in the AT&T National.

He grew up in Illinois, and Murray has long been one of his favourites. He thought about asking tournament officials if he could be paired with the actor, then decided against it. Imagine his surprise when someone sent a text to his wife Tuesday night that Murray would be his partner, and the phone call that followed the next morning.

"I've got this message on my phone," Points said. "He says, 'D.A., this is Bill Murray. ... I got your number from the Police Department.'"

Murray invited him to play that afternoon at Cypress Point, and Points said he played the final four holes -- some of the most beautiful of any golf course around the world -- as the sun was setting over the Pacific.

While telling the story, Points mentioned Thursday was his daughter's first birthday.

"This week so far just seems to keep getting better and better and better," he said. "I'm having a good time."

So is Murray. In the pro-am portion of the tournament, they opened with a 59.

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am Leaderboard

Snapshot - Bill Murray and Andy Garcia

Bill Murray and Andy Garcia at Pebble Beach

Wilson and Brees at Pebble Beach

Pebble Beach

On Sunday, Mark Wilson enjoyed watching his favourite NFL team, the Green Bay Packers, win the Super Bowl. On Monday, he then went out and won his second PGA TOUR event of the young season, beating Jason Dufner in a playoff at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

A year ago, Drew Brees led the New Orleans Saints to their first Super Bowl win, claiming MVP honors in the process and bringing much happiness to a city that has been rebuilding since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Just going out on a limb here, but it's likely Wilson and Brees may talk a little football during the first three days of competition at this week's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am.

Wilson, the TOUR's hottest golfer, and Brees, Sports Illustrated's reigning Sportsman of the Year, are paired together in the event's pro-amateur pairings for the first three rounds. They will play in the same group as another pro-am team, Chez Reavie and actor Chris O'Donnell.

Even though this tournament offers advantages to the long hitters, Wilson -- not exactly known for his length off the tee -- will be one of the players to beat this week.

Having won the Sony Open in Hawaii in his first start of 2011, then following that with last week's win at TPC Scottsdale, he now leads the FedExCup standings by 336 points -- a hefty margin considering we're only five weeks into the TOUR schedule.

"The story this year is Mark Wilson," Paul Goydos said Tuesday. "How about our boy, Mark? 150 pounds dripping wet. All my arguments about length being all that matters, he's throwing it right out the window. I had to rethink my whole thought process."

Wilson, who was born in Wisconsin but now lives in a suburb of Chicago, said the harsh weather in the Midwest and his hot start this year has caused him to adjust his playing schedule. He's going to continue playing through the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard next month, then take a week off before making his first appearance at the Masters.

"I'm just enjoying the ride here and that's just kind of the way I'm going to look at the year," he said. "Just ride this train as long as I can."

Brees rode the train all the way to the Super Bowl last year. This past season, however, the Saints were shocked by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the playoffs -- an abrupt exit for a team looking to repeat as world champions.

Unlike Wilson, Brees said his ride is over -- and he looks forward to starting a new one.

"I'm finally feeling that the ride from the 2009 Super Bowl is now ending," he told The New York Times recently, "and now I have a chance to relax a bit. I need to recharge my batteries, both physically and mentally."