Points pro-am champ at Pebble
Published 4:00 am Monday, February 14, 2011
- Points pro-am champ at Pebble
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Sunday at Pebble Beach turned out to be a real Cinderella story. D.A. Points captured his first PGA Tour victory and dragged along his amateur, Bill Murray of “Caddyshack” fame, to the pro-am title.
One shot behind as he played the second-toughest hole on the course, Points holed out for eagle from 100 yards on the 14th hole and followed that with a bending 30-foot birdie putt. He closed with a 5-under 67 for a two-shot victory in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Points became only the fourth player in the last 20 years to make Pebble Beach is first PGA Tour victory.
It was a rare occasion when the winner wasn’t even the biggest star.
Murray, famous for his role as assistant greenskeeper Carl Spackler in “Caddyshack,” has become a staple at this celebrity-rich tournament over the last two decades and once even tossed an elderly woman into the bunker.
He now gets his name on a plaque in the wall of pro-am champions below the first tee at Pebble Beach.
“Pebble Beach may be the most iconic place in America to play golf, and to win here, it’s just a dream come true,” said Points, who finished at 15-under 271 and earned his first trip to the Masters.
Making it even better was having Murray at his side.
Points said at the start of the week that being in the chaotic center of Murray and his antics kept him at ease. At his most nervous moment, facing a 6-foot par putt on the 16th hole, he turned the tables. As his partner stood over a long putt, Points hollered at Murray, “The crowd would be really happy if you could make that.”
Murray missed. Points made his par, and finished with two easy pars.
Hunter Mahan shot 31 on the front nine and twice was tied for the lead on the back nine. He birdied the 17th with a tee shot inside 3 feet, then reached the par-5 18th in two. But he three-putted for par, missing a 4-foot birdie putt.
Ultimately, it didn’t matter. Mahan closed with a 66 and wound up alone in second, two shots behind.
Steve Marino, who had a one-shot lead going into the final round, never caught up after Points made his eagle from the 14th fairway. Marino missed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 16th to get within one, then slammed his driver to the turf on the 18th when his tee shot sailed into a bunker to the right.
Marino hit his third shot into the ocean and made a triple-bogey 8 that mattered only in his bank account. Not making a par to share second place was the difference of $327,200.
Tom Gillis closed with a 70 and finished alone in third.
Points and Murray won the pro-am tournament by two shots. The trophy was locked up with Points’ par on the 18th when Murray announced his “big putt” that was meaningless. He then mimicked some dialogue from the “Cinderella Story” scene in Caddyshack, when Murray swatted at flowers with his scythe and imagined the former greenskeeper on the verge of winning the Masters.
“It’s in the hole!!!!”
Not quite. As the putt headed toward the cup, Murray jogged over to tap it while it was still moving, then thrust his arms in the air.
“The only chance D.A. had to win was if I could make it through the entire week without ever asking what the initials ‘D.A.’ stand for,” Murray said. “And I didn’t. And he’s the champion.”
They stand for Darren Andrews.
Murray also won the pro-am title in the Pebble Beach event on the Champions Tour with Scott Simpson, his longtime partner at Pebble Beach who played the straight man to Murray’s routine.
Is this a new tandem?
“I’m thinking of turning pro,” Murray said. “I probably won’t. It’s really nice to play with a gentleman. He’s a good person. He’s from Illinois. He’s Lincoln-esque in stature and unfailingly polite.”
Also on Sunday:
Alvaro Quiros takes Dubai title
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Tiger Woods stumbled in a bid for his first victory in 15 months and Alvaro Quiros won the Dubai Desert Classic with a wild round that included a hole-in-one and a triple bogey.
The 70th-ranked Quiros shot a 68 to finish at 11-under 277, one stroke ahead of Anders Hansen (70) and James Kingston (67). Woods had a 3-over 75 to end tied for 20th at 4-under 284. He had entered the final round one stroke off the lead.
Quiros eagled the second hole to move into the lead before a triple bogey on No. 8 left him tied with Hansen. The Dane briefly took the lead with an eagle on No. 13, but bogeyed the 15th.
Quiros had a birdie on No. 9 and then a hole-in-one on No. 11 to move back in front. He fell back with a bogey on the 14th, but retook the lead for good with a birdie on No. 16.
Birdie on 18 lifts Lehman to victory
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Tom Lehman birdied the final hole to finish at 13 under, breaking a tie with Jeff Sluman and Rod Spittle and winning the Champions Tour’s Allianz Championship.
Lehman shot a final-round 69 to win for the third time on the over-50 circuit. The 51-year-old former British Open champ had five birdies, but he bogeyed the par-4 ninth and par-3 14th to make things interesting on the back nine.