Potter stuns Johnson at Pebble Beach
Ted Potter Jr. shot a 3-under 69 and outlasted Dustin Johnson to win the AT&T Pebble Beach National by three strokes on Sunday.
PEBBLE BEACH, CALIF. — Ted Potter Jr. outplayed the world’s No. 1 player and held off everyone else Sunday to win the AT&T Pebble Beach National for his first victory since a broken ankle nearly ended his career.
Potter holed a chip from behind the green for birdie on the par-3 seventh hole to build a two-shot lead over Dustin Johnson, and no one got any closer the rest of the way.
He finished with 11 straight pars for a 3-under 69 and a three-shot victory over Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jason Day and Chez Reavie.
Potter was unflappable playing alongside Johnson, who next week completes one full year at No. 1 in the world. That changed when he tapped in for par on the 18th hole, and he choked back emotion of a week he won’t soon forget.
He stepped off a curb in Canada in August 2014 and broke his ankle, keeping him out of golf for two years and then back to the minor leagues a year ago. Potter’s only other victory was at The Greenbrier Classic in 2012. He has missed the cut in 55 percent of his PGA Tour events in his career.
And then he didn’t flinch next to Johnson, with Mickelson making a late charge and Day never too far behind.
“It’s been a struggle,” he said. “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 this week.”
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS: Mark Calcavecchia took advantage of Bernhard Langer’s messy finish to complete a wire-to-wire victory in the Boca Raton Championship. Calcavecchia had a 20-foot bogey save on the par-3 16th and parred the final two holes for a 2-under 70 and a two-stroke victory over Langer on The Old Course at Broken Sound.
The 57-year-old Calcavecchia won his fourth senior title and first since 2015. Langer bogeyed the final two holes for a 70. Tied for the lead after Calcavecchia’s bogey on 16, Langer fell back on the par-4 17th when he left a 4-foot par putt to the right. On the par-5 18th, the German drove to the right into pine straw and wood chips and found two bunkers before reaching the green. Calcavecchia finished at 16-under 200. He opened with a 64 for a one-stroke lead and birdied the final three Saturday in a 66 that left him two shots clear of Langer. The 60-year-old Langer won his home event in 2010.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand won the World Super 6 Perth with a 2-and-1 victory over James Nitties in the six-hole final. Kiradech had to win five six-hole matches for his European Tour title since the Saltire Paul Lawrie Match Play in 2015. He reached the championship match by beating Lucas Herbert in a 90-meter shootout hole.