Potter writes amazing Pebble Beach script
pebble beach — Ted Potter Jr. beat three of the biggest names on the PGA Tour at one of the most famous golf courses in America, and then his day got even better.
Walking out to the 18th green for the trophy presentation at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he stopped to chat with Clint Eastwood.
“It was pretty awesome to meet him out there today,” Potter said. “Big fan of a lot of his movies he’s done, and it was just incredible to meet him, too.”
In some respects, Potter starred in his own show with an ending not many imagined.
He turned pro out of high school and groomed his game on the minitours, sometimes earning barely enough money to pay for a week’s worth of food and gas. When he first got onto the Web.com Tour, he missed the cut in all 24 tournaments he played. Two years after he broke through on the PGA Tour by winning the Greenbrier Classic, he broke his right ankle stepping off a curb and sat out for two years.
The injury was so severe he had two surgeries — one to insert two plates and 12 screws, the other to remove all that hardware.
He played in the final group Sunday with Dustin Johnson, coming up on a full year at No. 1 in the world. Potter was No. 246.
Potter overcame a three-putt bogey on the opening hole by not dropping a shot the rest of the way. He closed with a 3-under 69 and left the mistakes to everyone else, a cast of challengers that included Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Jason Day. They all finished second, along with Chez Reavie. Hollywood stuff, for sure. “I’m so happy right now to get it done today, especially against the world No. 1, playing with him today,” Potter said. “The win here at Pebble is just unbelievable.”
There is nothing fancy about Potter’s game or how he won for the second time in his career.
He birdied both the par 5s on the front. He chipped in for birdie behind the seventh green, which gave him a two-shot lead. And then he was never out of position the rest of the way, knowing he had the lead and that someone would have to catch him.
Mickelson made a late charge with three birdies in a four-hole stretch through the 17th hole. But trying to make eagle on the 18th for a chance at winning, Lefty came up just right of the green and into a bunker, leading to par and a 67.—