Potter holds off Johnson for win
Mickelson finishes in three-way tie for second place
The Associated Press
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — For one day at Pebble Beach, TedPotter Jr. was better than thebest in the world.
Look back even further, and his three-shot victory in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is even more remarkable.
He played so many minitour events that he lost track of how many he won, some of them only two-day tournaments that paid enough for a week’s worth of food and gas. More recently, Potter was out of golf for two years recovering from a broken ankle that requiredtwo surgeries — one to insert 12 screws and two plates, another to remove all that hardware. There was no guarantee he would make it back.
Potter started the final round Sunday tied with Dustin Johnson, the No. 1 player in the world for the last year. Throughout the day, Phil Mickelson and Jason Day each made a run at the 34-year-old Floridian who had 46 missed cuts and only four top 10s in his previous 83 startson the PGA Tour. Potterbeat them all. “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.” Just don’t call it a fluke. Potter closed with a 3-under 69 and didn’t drop a shot after a three-putt bogey on the opening hole. Making it tougher was playing in a threesome behind a foursome in the pro-am format, having too much time to think about the stage, the contenders and the opportunity. Henever flinched. The key moment came behind the green on the par-3 seventh, the most picturesque at Pebble Beach. He and Johnson were side-byside in light rough to a firm green that ran away from them. Johnson chipped nicelyto 4 feet. Potter put a little more loft on his shot and holed it for a birdie and a twoshot lead.
No one got closer the rest ofthe way.
He wound up winning by threeshots over Johnson (72), Mickelson (67), Day (70) and ChezReavie (68).
Potter stepped awkwardly off a curb at the Canadian Open in 2014 and broke his ankle so badly that he didn’t play another tournament until two years later. He wound up having to work his way back to the PGA Tour through the developmental tour last year.
“It’s been a struggle,” said Potter, who finished at 17-under 270. “You break your ankle and you don’t know what’s going to happen with your swing, with your career. It’s unbelievable right now. ... This has been a blast thisweek.”
It was another disappointment for Johnson going into the final round. He now won only five out of 12 times when he took at least a share of the 54-hole lead into the final round. He fell back Sunday with a tee shot so bad on the par-3 fifth that it sailed over the edge of the cliff and he did well to escape with bogey, and then a shot he misjudged in a tough wind on No. 8 that wentinto the back bunker for anotherbogey.
“A few iron shots cost me a few bogeys,” said Johnson, who played Pebble in 70-72 on the weekend. “Two under in 36holes is not too good as well as I thought I was playing. I’d like to have put a little more pressureon Ted.”
Mickelson, who began his move late with three birdies in a four-hole stretch, had his highest finish since he was runner-up to Henrik Stenson inthe 2016 British Open.