MBN: THE MONTE BUBBLES NETWORK

Phil Mickelson ties the scoring record in a five shot victory at the AT & T Pebble Beach. Mickelson joins golf greats Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller with his win today, making him a 3 time winner at Pebble Beach . Mark O’Meara leads the three with five wins at Pebble Beach .

In the final round, Mickelson had 9 birdies, 1 bogey and 1 double bogey and zero three puts. His final stats show a driving accuracy of 81.8% and 79.2% greens in regulation. Mickelson has previously won the AT & T Pebble Beach in 1998 and 2005.

“I’ve never driven the ball this well, ” commented Phil Mickelson after his win today. “It’s a great feeling to drive the ball and know where it’s going to be.”

“I just love coming here to Pebble,” shared Phil Mickelson after his win. It shows Phil.

Besides his 3 wins, Pebble Beach has special significance to Mickelson. His grandfather caddied at Pebble Beach 70-80 years when he was 11 years old. The cost for a caddie at the time was 25 cents.

Mickelson’s five shot victory matched the largest margin since the tournament’s beginning in 1937 with Bing Crosby. Today’s victory is his 30^th PGA career win making him the third player in PGA tour history to surpass $40 million in earnings and a current ranking a 7^th on the 2007 PGA Tour Regular Season FedEx Cup Points list. So much for a Winged Foot meltdown at the U.S. Open, he’s turned it to his advantage.

Volunteering for AT & T’s Pebble Beach Pro Am takes a cast of hundreds, many being there for decades and some coming as far as Bakersfield to volunteer, church groups, and the local Lions Club. An unofficial estimate of 2000 including approximately 350 Marshalls is what it

Grandpa Neil, has been a volunteer for the Pebble Beach Celebrity Pro-Am long before AT & T came to surface. Grandpa Neil, this year known as the “Lunch Punch Guy” in the media center is the real host to the players, press and volunteers. Actor George Lopez may be the host to the people, but Grandpa Neil, makes the experience. With an enviable memory, he even recalled driving MBN’s Senior Editor William Hoehne nearly four decades ago when he competed at Pebble Beach . Grandpa Neil knows everybody, and if you don’t know Grandpa Neil, you haven’t been there to Pebble Beach .

Volunteer are designated by their attire. The marshalls wore a red windbreaker and either white or white white knickers with tenure indicated by the slight color change in the red and blue argyle socks. The marshall with the white hat designated the team leader and the others had navy hats.

Each volunteer at Pebble Beach was happy, from the Marshalls to parking attendants direting traffic in the rain. Each volunteer we spoke with was proud to be their and their years of volunteering. The only other place we’ve seen such pride through the volunteers was the Rose Parade volunteers when they would proudly tell you how long they’ve volunteered and when they earned their white suit.

Being a volunteer, is literally one of the hottest tickets in town.

“This is one of the premier golf tournaments for volunteers” shared volunteer Cindy Weigelt. “When you volunteer you don’t have to buy your own ticket. Most of them (PGA tournaments) you have to buy your own ticket.”

“We like to volunteer because it helps the charities. My husband is in the Lions Club in Monterey …Even the volunteers that collect the trash, love it. It makes me laugh, because we all really like what we do” shared Nancy Pesce who has been volunteering for 15 years. Some have been volunteering for 30 or 40 years.

The main event for the volunteers is held the evening of the 3M Celebrity Challenge. Nicknamed the Clambake, it features entertainment by the celebrities playing earlier in the day. This year’s entertainment included Glenn Frey, Clay Walker, Kevin James, Danny Gans, Huey Lewis, Kevin Costner and his band and Kenny G. Memories of Kenny G holding a single note for 45 minutes were fresh in volunteer minds.

New to me, was that Kevin Costner had a band. In the words of a group of Marshalls at Spyglass on Thursday the morning after the Clambake, “Kevin Costner sang 2 songs…He was good, he wasn’t great, but he was good, very good.” Las Vegas entertainer Danny Gans did Clint Eastwood and the 12 days of Christmas in different voices. “Clay Walker was very good…Kenny G starts in the back with a light on him and comes walking through the audience shaking hands.” This group of Marshall volunteers have been volunteering for this pay for 14 years.

Besides the memories and being part of the AT & T Pebble Beach, volunteers are fed and treated well and receive gifts. Nancy Pesce, recalled hearing Clay Walker and some of the others entertaining in the (volunteer) tent. Past gifts have included a picnic backpack, Waterford high ball glasses, a collapsible chair, nice black cotton sweater.

In return the volunteers return the hospitality to everyone that comes to the tournament. The volunteers have become as much a part of the tradition of Pebble Beach that they’re trying to preserve. Grandpa Neil promised that he would be there next year if we would come back. We promised we would do our best if he would too. Welcome to the AT & T Pebble Beach Celebrity Pro Am and many happy returns.

Entertainment has been part-and-parcel since the tournament was first held in 1937 as the Bing Crosby Professional-Amateur at Rancho Santa Fe Country Club north of San Diego.

After six years at Rancho Santa Fe, the tournament moved up the Pacific Coast to the picturesque Monterey Peninsula where crooner Crosby provided the $10,000 purse.

For a time known as Crosby's "Clambake," the pro-am event has always been underpinned by its celebrity presence.

Pebble Beach , the allure. It’s reputation legendary. Walking Pebble Beach , I realized an appreciation not only of the course but of the players who play it. Bring out the sun and you may think you may have just landed in heaven. You have to walk the course to understand what it’s like.

Stunning ocean views, weather which can change from hole to hole, and some of the nastiest rough I have ever seen. A course of breathtaking beauty yet challenging for those that dare to challenge themselves. When you’re on the green, you’re on the green. When you’re not, you are definitely not. Some areas of the course appeared to be cut back for the many spectators coming for the AT & T Pebble Beach.

The AT & T Pebble Beach Celebrity Pro Am tournament is played on 3 courses – Pebble Beach , Spyglass Hill and Poppy Hills. As tough as Pebble Beach appears, it is Spyglass which makes Golf Digest’s 50 Toughest Golf Course list being the 24^th with dreaded iceplants and an uphill climb through a soggy foggy forest.

MBN’s William Hoehne recalls the days of Bing Crosby with his grandmother, a script supervisor who considered him a super great guy. Bing Crosby ran the show. Originally called the clambake, Crosby invited his friends up to play golf and have clams. It became such a big deal that it became a tournament. Crosby was such a major force in the entertainment industry, he knew everything.

In those days you came to the tournament because it was the tournament – there was the U.S. Open, the Masters, the British Open and the Crosby . Young golfers all dreamed to play in the Crosby because you were able to play with the best in the world. If you gambled on shots in the course, you could win big and build a reputation as a great golfer. If you gambled and lost, they wrote it off, it was Pebble Beach . It was a no lose situation, an idiot proof course.

Every year, Arnold Palmer would try to take a short cut across the ocean and he would end up in the water. People would say charge. He could do anything on any golf course in the world, except Pebble Beach . Unlike the mighty ferns that bent in the wind, Palmer would not bend for Pebble Beach , all he knew was to attack. It was what made him great. There’s a lot of Arnold Palmer in Bill Murray, because Bill Murray goes for it. That was Arnold Palmer. Arnold Palmer would hit things from lies that were impossible. Rather than take a penalty, he’d hit the thing.

Returning to Pebble Beach , I simply remember more trees than there are now. They’ve grown a lot. It’s not the same. Some of the holes have changed structurally. The hazards are more hazardous. The rough is closer to the ground. The rough at Spyglass is more

reminiscent of what the rough at Pebble Beach used to be like in the old days. So much manufacturing – you could use a putter off some of the rough in some spots at Pebble Beach. There are more building structures than before, as the previous houses were not as large.

I still remember how to play most of the holes hang to the side opposite the water. Unless you drive long, always drive short. Better to take extra shots instead of ending up in the hazards at Pebble Beach .

The Pebble Beach resorts can be played by anyone that choose to pony up the green fees of nearly $500 for Pebble Beach or $300 plus for Spyglass.

Beware though, if you can’t play golf, don’t plan on playing Pebble Beach . It will tame you. Your inflated country club handicap will not help. That’s not to say that you’re not welcome there on days when there’s no tournament.

Bing Crosby was a public links player. Pebble Beach has The Lodge, but is open to the public and those who can pony up the near $500 for green fees. Spyglass green fees are only $300 plus with The Links at Spanish Bay and Del Monte Golf Course being less.

Tom Watson, recalled during the press conference when his father brought him to Pebble Beach to play golf, because if you could win there you could win anywhere. He didn’t say how long ago it was, but he did say his father was outraged at the $10 fee to play the course. Tom Watson returned this year playing with his son Michael. Outrage over a $10 golf fee, those were the days.

A walking tour of Pebble Beach

(C) MBN (C) MBN 2007  William Hoehne