Fun tournament won’t be a tune-up for Open
PEBBLE BEACH — Entertainer/television host Alfonso Ribeiro watched three long, uphill putts roll back to his feet Friday on No. 8 at Spyglass Hill. Then, naturally, he powered his next attempt past the hole and practically off the green.
Moments later, Ribeiro’s pro partner, Jason Gore, improbably made a similarly steep, challenging putt of about 50 feet. Ribeiro celebrated by exuberantly breaking into his signature “Carlton” dance, right there on the No. 8 green. The crowd roared.
It was a cool moment, emblematic of the good-natured vibe of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Just don’t expect to see anything remotely similar when the world’s top golfers return to the Monterey Peninsula in June.
“There’s no room for dancing in the U.S. Open,” Adam
Scott said with a thin smile, “unless you’re winning.”
Barely more than four months from now, Pebble Beach will host the 119th U.S. Open. That gives this Pro-Am an extra layer of intrigue, as Scott and his cohorts try to pocket any nugget of wisdom they potentially could use June 13-16.
The reality is, they might as well be playing on Mars this week.
No two tournaments in golf are more different. And we’re not talking only about the striking contrast in course conditions — soft, slow and soggy during the AT&T and (most likely) firm, fast and fiendish for the Open.
Also worth noting is the vast difference in mood and atmosphere. Players smile, joke and, yes, dance on greens in the Pro-Am. They inevitably grimace, sigh and throw their arms up in frustration while chasing America’s national championship.
The winning score in each of the previous four AT&Ts has been at least 17-under-par; Brandt Snedeker won at 22under in 2015. By comparison, only one player finished below par in the past two U.S. Opens at Pebble: Tiger Woods (12under) in his epic 2000 stampede. Graeme McDowell prevailed at even-par in 2010.
But this isn’t merely about numbers. The aura surrounding the onetime Crosby Clambake remains the most lighthearted on the tour — a distinctive blend of the sports and entertainment worlds, just as Bing Crosby intended.
That’s the polar opposite of the U.S. Open, a rugged test in which elite golfers trudge off the course battered and beaten, as if they went 15 rounds with a heavyweight boxer.
“At the U.S. Open, you’re nervous the whole time,” Davis Love III said Friday at Spyglass. “This week, you’re kind of enjoying it and having fun the whole time. I’m 2-over, but I’m still trying to have fun with my amateur. …
“It’s a completely different week,” Love said. “The vibe is completely opposite this week, and the course is completely opposite of the way it’s going to play in the summer.”
Players in the Pro-Am divide their time between three courses: Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula’s Shore Course. Pebble will host the U.S. Open by itself, of course, as it previously has done five times.
This year’s AT&T does feature thin, Open-like fairways, giving players at least one June preview. USGA officials narrowed the fairways on several holes in preparation for the Open. They’re now about 25 to 30 yards wide in the landing area, compared with 45-plus yards for a normal AT&T.
Otherwise, this week’s course barely resembles what tour pros will see when they return in four months.
Scott still figured it made sense to tee it up this week. He had played in the Pro-Am only once in his career before last year, but now he’s here for the second consecutive year in part with the U.S. Open in mind.
He’s also realistic about how much he really will learn.
“I’m hoping it’s different in June,” Scott said, glancing at the rain pelting Spyglass on Friday. “Just being familiar with the holes is what you learn. That’s what you take out of it, just visually.
“The more you play a course, hopefully the more comfortable you get standing on every tee.”
Scott and the other 155 pros in this week’s field struggled to find comfort Friday, given the cool temperatures and afternoon downpour. They no doubt will struggle again during the Open, for entirely different reasons.