AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am 2015: Daily Leaderboard Updates and Analysis
While the amateur tournament featuring celebrities and various public figures is always a major draw, there's also the matter of deciding the professional tournament at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
With a $1,224,000 winning share and 500 FedEx Cup points at stake at the Pebble Beach course in California, you can bet the game's top players are a bit more interested in winning than checking out the celebrities in action.
Below you'll find the leaderboard, daily highlights from the event and analysis as the tournament rolls on.
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Leaderboard
Round 4
A long-awaited return to the winner's circle proved unattainable for overnight leader Jim Furyk. A resurgent Brandt Snedeker instead pulled away from the field to win the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Sunday.
Snedeker shot a five-under 67 in the final round to triumph by three strokes over Nick Watney, with an overall score of 22 under par. He made just one bogey for the entire tournament, as all phases of Snedeker's game were clicking.
World No. 1 Rory McIlroy reached out to congratulate Snedeker on the victory:
Reigning FedEx Cup champion Billy Horschel was also happy for Snedeker—and had a wealth of knowledge about the significance of the win:
When he won this very event in 2013, Snedeker moved to No. 4 in the world rankings, a career best. Injuries have often plagued the talented putter during his career, and his form dipped this last season as he failed to qualify for the USA Ryder Cup team.
Now it appears Snedeker has his sweet-swinging, smooth-stroking swagger back, so he should be a factor in his bid to notch a maiden major title this year if his week at Pebble Beach serves as any indicator.
Snedeker stated how important it was for him to regain his form, per a Friday report from PGATour.com's Helen Ross:
"You realize how tough it is to move up in the world golf rankings without winning and being competitive when you've done what I've done, which is fall out of the top 50. […] I just need to get myself back in contention more, give myself some chances to win, and all that stuff will take care of itself. I've been doing the right stuff and I've been telling people this for awhile. Until you do it, nobody really believes you.
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The following stats from Golf Channel's Justin Ray capture the brilliance Snedeker has shown despite coming off a down year and Furyk's perpetual heartbreak:
Another player who's been known to play Pebble Beach well is Dustin Johnson. The transcendent athlete found the familiar grounds fruitful, carding a 66 on Sunday to vault into a tie for fourth.
FoxSportsAsia reporter Stephanie Wei lauded Johnson's natural ability:
Last week's winner, Jason Day, overcame a troublesome 72 in Thursday's opening round to shoot 62 and followed those rounds with 69 and 67 to close at 17 under overall to match Johnson's 72-hole total.
Day had a nifty eagle at the par-five sixth hole to at least give some early hope of notching back-to-back wins:
Just one stroke further back from Johnson and Day was Jordan Spieth, the next big talent in American golf who shot in the 60s for all four of his rounds. Spieth's ball-striking is on point at the moment, so if he can roll in a few more putts, he'll be even more dangerous.
Charlie Beljan's tee shot to the majestic par-three 17th set up his second of three straight closing birdies to finish solo third at 18 under:
The depth of talent is something to behold in a professional golf climate that currently lacks Tiger Woods to move the meter and is seeing Phil Mickelson continue to struggle.
A lot of stars are in peak form at this early stage of the 2014-15 PGA Tour season, which bodes well for the type of golf to expect in the next several events and at the Masters in April. So many are vying to be the tour's next big headliner, not the least of which are Johnson, Day and Spieth. They each have plenty of game to get it done.
Reigning Masters champion Bubba Watson will defend his title next week at the Northern Trust Open against a field that features a bright, young European star in Victor Dubuisson. Sergio Garcia and last year's Pebble Beach winner, Jimmy Walker, are also in action, so it should be another notable event on the PGA Tour calendar.
Round 3
As you would expect from moving day at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, there was plenty of shifting at the top of the leaderboard.
Matt Jones continued to play mostly mistake-free golf en route to capturing the lead heading into the final round. The 34-year-old Australian has been dazzling thus far, well on his way to the first top-10 finish of his season and a possible win.
Starting on the back nine, Jones was efficient early. He had one birdie on No. 13 to make the turn at one-under for the first nine holes, then turned on the jets with six birdies in seven holes from No. 1 through 7 before finally showing his human side with back-to-back bogeys on the last two holes.
It was a continuation of what Jones has done on Thursday and Friday, in which he had just three total bogeys in 36 holes. He said after the second round that one key to success was how soft the greens have been thus far, via the Associated Press (h/t ESPN):
"If the greens firm up, Pebble is going to play the hardest because they're such small greens," Jones said. "If you're not hitting your irons well enough, you're going to struggle out there."
Jones also has a chance to make history if he can keep the mostly-positive vibes going into Sunday, according to PGA Tour Media Relations:
Despite the success Jones had in round three, he was caught by Jim Furyk, who played an excellent round. The long-time PGA Tour veteran had his second round under 65 in three days, firing an eight-under 63 to vault into the lead.
Making this performance by Furyk more impressive, per Jason Sobel of The Golf Channel, is that it came after a long layoff:
Furyk is one of those ageless wonders. He's never going to be the most dominant player on tour, especially at the age of 44, but there are going to be a couple of events every year where he is winning or in contention on the final day.
Justin Ray of The Golf Channel summed up how well Furyk has done in the time since his last victory:
If Furyk can keep things going on Sunday, he will win his first PGA Tour event since The Tour Championship in 2010. It will be an interesting final pairing with Furyk and Jones, as the former is used to high-pressure moments and the latter has just one PGA Tour win under his belt at last year's Shell Houston Open.
As good as Jones and Furyk were on Saturday, the round of the day belonged to Marcel Siem. The German native fired a nine-under 63 to climb up 67 spots and put himself in line for a top-10 finish. He had seven birdies and an eagle on the par-5 sixth hole.
Since this is a Pro-Am, which Happy Gilmore says every golfer is paired with a celebrity, Siem got some help with this birdie putt from playing partner Kelly Slater, via PGA Tour:
Brandt Snedeker, who ended Friday tied for the lead, is still in the hunt after a solid round. He didn't do anything wrong to fall out of the top spot, tied with Jones for second place, it's just unfortunate timing because Jones was playing out of his mind for such a long stretch.
There was a brief moment where it looked like Snedeker would be battling Jones throughout the round on his fourth hole, the 13th at Pebble Beach, with this putt, via PGA Tour:
Moving further down the leaderboard, after a strong start on Thursday, John Daly will miss the final round after missing the cut. He started out on the border of the line at six-under par, but a one-over 72 on Saturday left him two shots off the seven-under cut.
Daly has proven to be capable of being a solid PGA Tour player, as evidenced by the 65 he put up on Thursday, but maintaining that consistency from round to round doesn't happen.
Even though Daly's tournament is done, there's still so much drama coming out of California. Furyk made a furious charge to put himself atop the leaderboard, while eight players are all within five shots of the lead.
Furyk does have a leg up on the competition, but there's no room to breathe with Jones and Snedeker directly on his heels. Winning a title is never easy, so he will have to earn this victory on Sunday if it is going to happen.
Round 2
After opening the 2015 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in impressive fashion Thursday; Matt Jones, Brandt Snedeker and Justin Hicks all stayed near the top of the leader board following the conclusion of their respective second rounds.
Jones and Snedeker are tied atop the leaderboard at 12-under par, while Hicks is lurking just one stroke back at 11-under.
The Pebble Beach Pro-Am is unique in that it utilizes three different courses. Both Jones and Snedeker played Spyglass Hill Friday, while Hicks was on Monterey Peninsula. Jones was one stroke better than Snedeker in the second round with a six-under 66, which made up for the difference between them following the first round.
This tournament is especially important for Snedeker considering where he stands in the world rankings. According to Jason Sobel of GolfChannel.com, he is currently just 63rd in the world:
Per Golf Central on Twitter, the 34-year-old American has just over a month to break into the top 50, which would earn him a Masters berth:
It was quite evident that Snedeker handled the pressure well Friday as he hit every green in regulation for the first time as a professional:
While the battle atop the leaderboard is certainly intriguing, all eyes were on 48-year-old John Daly entering the second round. He shocked many with a seven-under opening round to put himself in contention.
He remained competitive early in the second round as he stalked the leaders due largely to spectacular shots like the one seen in this video, courtesy of the PGA Tour on Twitter:
Daly was two-under on the day through seven holes, which prompted Sobel to cite just how far he has come over the past five years:
Unfortunately for Daly, his play faltered down the stretch as he played three-over golf through his final 11 holes and finished his Monterey Peninsula round at one-over par. Daly isn't out of it by any means at six-under for the tournament, but he certainly has a lot of work to do as he trails the leaders by six shots.
The most impressive round Friday came courtesy of Australia's Jason Day. The former Masters and US Open runner-up essentially erased a pedestrian first round by firing a spectacular nine-under 62 on Monterey Peninsula.
According to Justin Ray of GolfChannel.com, insanely low rounds have become the norm for Day as of late:
His performance Friday wasn't amazing only because of the fact that he was even-par after one round. Day's second-round showing almost didn't happen because he was dealing with an illness and considered pulling out of the tournament, per Doug Ferguson of The Associated Press:
It can be argued that Day still faces an uphill battle since he is three shots off the pace and sick to boot, but he could just as easily be the golfer to beat if he is able to maintain the form he displayed Friday.
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am entering the weekend is the fact that there are so many different golfers in contention for the title.
A host of players are just two shots behind the leaders at 10-under. While many of them are relative unknowns, Billy Horschel is definitely a name worth tracking.
The group at nine-under alongside Day is intriguing as well with both Jim Furyk and Nick Watney standing out as potential threats.
With so little separation through two rounds, the third and fourth rounds will almost certainly feature some high-level and closely contested golf.
Round 1
Justin Hicks' ability to finish in style nearly stole the show during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. But John Daly wasn't about to have his spotlight stolen away.
While Hicks closed his opening round with an eagle, tying him atop the leaderboard with J.B. Holmes, it was Daly's 65 on the day that had everyone buzzing. That left him just a stroke behind Hicks and Holmes, who each shot an eight-under 64 to share the lead.
Daly's excellent round needs some perspective, however, because it was wildly shocking. There's this stat, provided by the PGA Tour on Twitter:
Or this stat and commentary from Daly himself, via the Golf Channel:
Finally, Doug Ferguson of The Associated Press broke down Daly's recent performances at this event:
Daly will have a fight on his hands to remain near the top of the leaderboard. But it sure was fun to watch him own the course on Thursday.
Hicks and Holmes owned the course as well. Hicks left an amazing final impression, finishing the day without a single bogey and ending with an eagle. You can see the shot that put him in a share of the lead below:
Of course, that's how things have been going for Holmes of late. A week ago, Holmes lost in the playoff at the Farmers Insurance Open to Jason Day. Still, despite not holding the lead after the first day, Holmes was once again excellent, finishing with seven birdies, one eagle and just one bogey.
Brandt Snedeker and Jim Furyk are lurking as well, as they each finished seven-under, tying them with four other players in third place. Jimmy Walker and Day were disappointments on the day, however, as two of the favorites coming into the tournament shot even par on the day and found themselves eight strokes back of the lead.
The next few rounds promise to be quite entertaining, with all eyes on Daly. Still, Holmes is one of the hottest golfers in the game at the moment, and despite 25 players all within three strokes of the lead, he has to be the favorite after Thursday's action.
Well, the favorite to win the event, that is. After his surprising round, Daly has certainly earned the distinction of being the crowd favorite heading into Friday.
Note: Statistics courtesy of PGATour.com unless otherwise indicated.
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