Sips of Maginnes: Adjectives fall short in describing Pebble

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Chris Condon/PGA TOUR

Davis Love III gave the newly added Monterey Peninsula CC a big compliment after his round.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Leave it to the glib Chris Berman of ESPN to summon up the words that had eluded us as we tried to describe what we were fortunate enough to witness at Pebble Beach last week.

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"This is where God waits for a tee time, so we will just wait right along with him," Berman said before he teed off in the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Somehow adjectives like "amazing" and "spectacular" always seem to come up short. Berman certainly got it right, though.

* To say that pace of play has been an issue at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is like saying that Pebble Beach is a nice place. In the past there have been 188 pros and 188 amateurs spread over the three golf courses. Rounds took in excess of six hours.

Phil Mickelson said that in the past there were always at least two groups waiting on the par-3 fifth at Pebble Beach but when he got there in Saturday's third round his group didn't have to wait a bit. The reason for the improvement was the reduction of the field to 156 teams. The rounds were faster by nearly an hour.

* The Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, which replaced Poppy Hills in the rotation this year, was a huge hit with the players. The pros raved about the links-style course that has ocean views on nearly every hole. Davis Love III had perhaps the most interesting take, though. His golf course design company had bid on the renovation that was eventually awarded to designer Mike Strantz. Love said it was incredible what Strantz was able to achieve and went on to say he picked up a few design ideas while playing the Shore Course. Very high praise, indeed.

* Saturday at Pebble Beach has become more than a tradition with celebrities and captains of industry duffing, sculling and shanking shots on the most picturesque of settings. And perhaps the most beautiful shank of the week was struck by the funniest man in the field. George Lopez hit a hozzle rocket off the tee at the par-3 17th that soared over the gallery lining the right hand side of the hole. Lopez made jokes with his adoring fans as he and Michael Collins made their way through the gallery and tried to find his wayward pellet. George found his ball near a churros stand where he promptly pulled out his wallet, slapped down $100 and announced, "Churros for everyone."

* Alex Prugh was at it again at Pebble Beach. His run on top-10 finishes looked as if it would reach four straight as he made three early birdies on Sunday to get to 12 under. Turns out, Paul Goydos wasn't the only player to fall victim to the 14th hole, though. Prugh also made a quadruple-bogey 9 there to fall out of the top 10. Bryce Molder's chances of winning for the first time fell by the wayside there, too, when he also made a 9. Prugh ended up finishing in a tie for 27th but it's been a long stretch of great golf for the rookie who has played 10 different golf courses at his last four events. Prugh is taking a much needed break for a couple of weeks before heading to Florida.

* Two Chanticleers finished in the top-10 at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am. Two-time champ Dustin Johnson and Tom Gillis both played their college golf at Coastal Carolina University in Myrtle Beach. Johnson, who successfully defended his title on Sunday, is rapidly becoming one of the best young players in the game. By contrast Gillis has been back and forth to the TOUR three times since 2003 without too many highlights. After finishing fifth on the Nationwide Tour money list a year ago, though, Gillis is making the most of his return trip. He has made every cut so far this year and notched his first top-10 of the year with four rounds in the 60s last week on the Monterey Peninsula. The tie for eighth for Gillis was just the second of his career.

Former PGA TOUR player John Maginnes is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.