There was plenty of starpower on the final leaderboard at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but in the end Ted Potter, Jr. remained steady en route to a surprising victory. Here’s how things ended up on the Monterey Peninsula, where Potter held on for a three-shot win:
Leaderboard: Ted Potter, Jr. (-17), Phil Mickelson (-14), Chez Reavie (-14), Dustin Johnson (-14), Jason Day (-14)
What it means: While Potter started the day with a share of the lead, he was still seen as an underdog standing alongside the world No. 1. But despite a three-putt bogey on the opening hole, it was Potter who steadied himself with four front-nine birdies to take the lead. He closed with a string of 11 straight pars for his first win since the 2012 Greenbrier Classic. It’s a momentous victory for Potter, a veteran who missed several months after breaking his ankle stepping off a curb in 2014 and had to return to the Web.com Tour to regain his playing privileges.
Round of the day: Scott Stallings’ scores got progressively better this week, capping off with a bogey-free 66 in the final round on the host course. Stallings started on the back nine and made five birdies in his first nine holes, helping him jump more than 20 spots in the standings into sole possession of seventh place at 12 under.
Best of the rest: It’s another close call for Mickelson, who had an outside shot to win this event for the fifth time. Mickelson shot a 5-under 67 that featured three birdies in four holes from Nos. 14-17, but he wasn’t able to birdie the home hole to put additional pressure on Potter. At age 47, Lefty now has back-to-back top-5 finishes for the first time since 2013.
Biggest disappointment: Add this to the list of near-misses for DJ at Pebble Beach. The world No. 1 appeared ready to open the year with back-to-back wins on the PGA Tour, but he could never garner much momentum and struggled all day into the tiny greens even with a wedge in hand. It was a mixed-bag 72 for Johnson, who birdied the last to snag a share of second place but couldn’t keep pace with the journeyman down the stretch.
Shot of the day: Potter flew the green on the short par-3 seventh hole, but he turned a difficult up-and-down into a surprising birdie. After watching Johnson hit a similar pitch past the hole, Potter took dead aim and holed his shot from the rough for a two, evoking memories of Tom Kite’s famous chip on the same hole en route to winning the 1992 U.S. Open.
Quote of the day: “It’s definitely pleasing. I mean, it was a bit of a struggle there for a while.” – Potter
Source: Internet
