Pebble Beach, California, February 10, 2020 – In a wire-to-wire finish Canadian Nick Taylor emerged victorious on a blustery day at Pebble Beach Golf Links, shooting a two-under-par 70 in tough conditions to clinch the title. The first Canadian winner ever to win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am led after every round and never looked back, despite late surges by Kevin Streelman (2nd) and Northern Californian Maverick McNealy, who climbed 27 places on the Sunday leaderboard to finish in fifth place with his bogey-free round.
This was Taylor’s second win in 159 PGA TOUR starts and his first since the Sanderson Farms Championship in November 2014. This was his fifth appearance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
From his eagle on the first hole of the week at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, Taylor said “it was an incredible week—from start to finish.”
“I just felt like I read the greens so well this week and made a lot of crucial putts,” Taylor said. “Today was such a difficult day with the wind. And again, I made some crucial putts, even on the first hole, it was a big one for par, and some birdie putts early on to get the round going.”
The victory placed Taylor, 31, into the top 15 in the FedEx Cup rankings. His first-place earnings were $1,404,000.
In his closing round of 70, Taylor carded an impressive run on holes 4, 5, and 6 with two birdies and an eagle, finishing the front nine with his third birdie. As he made the turn, the winds picked up and the going got tougher. Following a disappointing double bogey on 14, Taylor rallied with two more birdies to close out the round.
“The whole stretch from 11 to 14 was tough. That chip in on 15 was obviously massive,” he noted.
Mickelson and Taylor, who were paired together, kept it a horse race for the first part of the round, until Mickelson ran into trouble on 8 (double bogey) and 9 (bogey). While Mickelson started the walk home with a birdie at 10, that was the last of the red numbers for the day. His weak finish took him out of contention and the shot at a record sixth victory.
“I got outplayed and I’m fine with that,” said Mickelson. “I am going to continue to get better and give myself more chances,” he added. However, Mickelson becomes the third player in PGA TOUR history with at least one top-10 finish in 30 consecutive seasons.
PRO-AM TEAM TITLE
Streelman captured the consolation prize, winning the pro-am team title with his partner, the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, with a 33-under-par 254. This is the second time in the past three years that the duo has won the pro-am title.
When asked about his playing relationship with Streelman, “We have been playing together five years here and the camaraderie and familiarity definitely helps,” Fitzgerald said. “It makes me more comfortable when I am standing over the ball.
JACK LEMMON AWARD
Stephen Mack, a New York-based co-founder of Mack Real Estate Group and an 8 handicapper, helped his professional playing partner, Lucas Glover, by 26 strokes to be recognized with the Jack Lemmon Award. Named after the Academy Award winning actor who failed to make the famous Saturday night “cut” a record number of times. Lemmon, who died in 2001, played in the tournament for over 30 years. Mack combined with Glover to tally rounds of 63-68-60 and 69. Glover’s four round total of 286 (70-76-66-74) placed him in a tie for 50th place.
LEADERS:
First Round – Nick Taylor -8 (63 MP), Patrick Cantlay -6 (66 SH), Chase Seiffert -6 (66 PB); and eight players tied at -5.
Second Round – Nick Taylor -14 (129 – 66 PB), Jason Day -12 (131/64 PB), Phil Mickelson -11 (132/64 MP), Chris Baker -10 (133/64 PB), Charl Schwartzel – 10 (133/66 PB)
Third Round – Nick Taylor -17 (198/69 SH), Phil Mickelson -16 (199/67 PB), Jason Day -14 (201/70 SH), Matt Every -11 (204/68 MP), Kevin Streelman -11 (204/68 PB)
Fourth Round – Nick Taylor -19 (268/70 PB), Kevin Streelman -15 (272/68 PB), Phil Mickelson -14 (273/74 PB), Jason Day -11 (276/75 PB), Maverick McNealy -9 (278/68 PB)
CUT: 68 pros made the cut at 212, 3-under par, with 71 advancing to Sunday’s final round with their amateur partners. The pro-am team cut was 197, 18-under par, with the limit of 25 teams advancing (one team at 197 was eliminated through the tie breaker system).
FIELD
This year’s professional field included seven past champions.
Among the celebrities making the pro-am team cut for Sunday’s final round were television hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Chris Harrison; country music artist Colt Ford; former NFL players Steve Young and Peyton Manning; retired NHL super star Wayne Gretzky; professional athletes Aaron Rodgers, Larry Fitzgerald, Justin Verlander, and surfer Kelly Slater.
COURSE AVERAGES: Pebble Beach 72.366 (4 rounds); Spyglass Hill 72.877 (3 rounds); Monterey Peninsula 69.69 (3 rounds).
WEATHER
Weather was not an issue all week, with cool, sunny conditions and temperatures consistently in the low 60’s. However, on Sunday afternoon, steady NNE winds, with gusts of up to 34 mph, challenged the final round competitors down the stretch.
About Monterey Peninsula Foundation
Monterey Peninsula Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that donates funds from the proceeds of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA TOUR and the PURE Insurance Championship Impacting The First Tee, a PGA TOUR Champions tournament. The Foundation focuses on improving the quality of life in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties.
www.montereypeninsulafoundation.org
www.attpbgolf.com
www.pureinsurancechampionship.org