Pros look forward to teeing it up with celebrity pals at AT&T
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- One of Paul Goydos' amateur partners was so nervous he barely advanced the ball 50 feet off the first tee at Spyglass Hill. And he was a single-digit handicap, too.
Another year, though, Goydos was playing with Donald Trump when the world's most famous billionaire made an ace on the 12th hole. Those are extremes, perhaps, but to be expected at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
The tournament that began in 1937 as Bing Crosby's clambake annually brings out the best -- and sometimes the worst -- in the 154 amateurs lucky enough to get to live out their fantasy inside the ropes at a PGA TOUR event.
Some of the celebrities are saxophonist Kenny G; actors Andy Garcia and Kevin Costner; quarterbacks Drew Brees and Tony Romo; boxer Oscar de la Hoya; and comedians Ray Romano, George Lopez and Bill Murray. Kenny G and Garcia have actually won the pro-am portion of the event while playing with Phil Mickelson and Paul Stankowski, respectively.
The spotlight is clearly on the celebrities on Saturday. The late Jack Lemmon's annual bid to make the cut and play Pebble Beach, one of the most iconic courses in the game, on Sunday with his long-time partner Peter Jacobsen was once one of the tournament's most poignant storylines.
More often than not, though, the amateurs on the 20 teams who survive to play on Sunday with their PGA TOUR partners are business leaders like Bob Stuart, the senior vice president of global sales for Hertz. He and Goydos won the pro-am last year.
"Winning the pro-am is a big deal, especially for the amateurs," said Goydos, who squandered a chance to win the individual title in 2010 with a quadruple bogey on the 14th hole on Sunday. "We had a great time. I'm looking forward to playing again this year. (The pro-am) is a big part of this event."
Padraig Harrington, who chose this historic event for his 2011 PGA TOUR debut, agrees. He likes the unique format and the novelty it represents in a schedule packed full of 72-hole stroke play events.
"There's a lot going on this week that sets it apart," Harrington said. "By any shape or means, you could never call the AT&T a normal event. I know some players don't like the format, but it's a good week. It's a week that you can come here and enjoy. There's a lot to enjoy, not just playing golf this week. There are other things happening.
"So I appreciate that and like that. I like the fact that, as I said, it gives me an opportunity to play with a friend. In some ways actually helps me play better golf playing in the pro-am format."
Harrington's partner is J.P. McManus, the Irish billionaire foreign exchange trader and race horse owner. Harrington knows each player has to build his own relationships in events like the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and he would encourage the younger players to take advantage.
"I don't think anybody teeing off at the AT&T (Pebble Beach National) Pro-Am this week is an amateur that's been dragged in off the street," Harrington explained. "There are a lot of people here who are seriously achieved in their own field. It's one of those weeks where there's a lot of things going on.
"... There are a lot of things to be gleaned in a week like this, whether it's one line here or there. You meet great sports people from other fields, and you can always learn from them. And the business people are so successful, you can always glean something from them that will help you in your own (life)."
Davis Love III has played in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am each of the last 25 years. He stays with the same family every year and is back playing this year with his frequent partner, Jon Linen, an American Express executive.
"It's a great week because you play with friends," Love said, echoing Harrington's sentiments. "You make great friends, and you learn a lot about other sports and businesses because you play with the top people in every business, every sport out there. It's pretty amazing."
Not everyone is cut out for the frenetic antics of a celebrity like Bill Murray, though. The low-key Scott Simpson partnered the "Caddyshack" star, who once infamously dragged a woman into a bunker, for years before joining the Champions Tour. This year's sacrificial lamb is D.A. Points , who calls Murray his "dream" partner.
Two-time defending champion Dustin Johnson plays again this week with Joe Rice, a Charleston, S.C., attorney who owns Bulls Bay Golf Club, which also happens to be the favorite haunt of singer Darius Rucker. The two won the team portion of the event in 2009, the year Johnson also picked up his breakthrough victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
"I'm very comfortable playing golf here," said Johnson, who will play the first three rounds with Pat Perez and his partner, surfer Kelly Slater. "I enjoy playing out here; I enjoy the tournament; the format's great. You have a lot of fun playing with your amateur partner and the other pro and his partner. It's going to be a good week.
"As long as you've got a good group and you enjoy their company, then you don't mind being out there for five, five and a half hours , whatever it is. We're pretty fortunate we kind of get to select who we want to play with. That's a big deal when you come out here and you're going to spend a lot of time with 'em."
Goydos has played with the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Bolton, as well as the man who made the phrase "You're fired" a part of popular culture. And if he could give any advice to the amateurs it would be to focus on their own game.
"Generally, I would say amateurs worry too much about us," Goydos said. "... I don't really get that. We play golf every day. I play with amateurs at home. We play pro-ams. Golf is that sport. ... The reality is I've never had an amateur even remotely affect me in any way, shape or form in the event.
"What I try to do is just play golf. We're not here to watch me play golf. We're here as a team. Yes, you can actually do both. I can actually play individually and I can actually help out the team. You can do both at the same time. It's not impossible."
And this week at Pebble Beach, it can be loads of fun.
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