Competitive rounds at the 2013 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am don’t begin until Thursday, but there is plenty to do on Tuesday and Wednesday of tournament week for golf fans who want to get ahead of the crowds and see some of the activities that precede the main event. Tickets are available at http://www.attpbgolf.com/tickets.
Practice rounds are underway on all three courses – Spyglass Hill, Monterey Peninsula Shore Course, and Pebble Beach Golf Links – Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:00 AM to 4 PM. Complimentary parking is available in Pebble Beach (Tuesday only). Beginning Wednesday morning, access to Pebble Beach will be restricted to only those with the proper parking credentials; complimentary spectator parking moves to Cal State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), in Marina (with free shuttles to the tournament). To reach the spectator parking lot at CSUMB, follow “AT&T GOLF” signs on Hwy 1.
Shuttle hours are Wed-Sat: 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Sunday: 6:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday afternoon at 1:30 PM, spectators can see players from the San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 49ers organizations go head-to-head in a 5-hole charity shootout on Holes 1, 2, 3, 17 & 18. Past & present Giants and 49ers who are scheduled to appear include, from the Giants – Mike Krukow, Ryan Vogelsong, Matt Cain, Dave Righetti, Dave Flemming, Bruce Bochy, Will Clark, and J.T. Snow; from the 49ers – Harris Barton, Dwight Clark, Brent Jones, Bill Romanowski, Steve Bono, Coach Jim Harbaugh, and more. These Bay Area sports heroes will compete for $100,000 to be awarded to the Giants Community Fund, the 49ers Foundation, and other Bay Area charities.
On Wednesday, members of the United States armed forces, law enforcement and fire prevention personnel, and their families, are invited to be guests of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. All law enforcement, firefighters and military personnel, plus one accompanied guest, will be admitted free of charge that day.
Wednesday also features the 3M Celebrity Challenge at 11:00 AM at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Twelve of the tournament’s leading celebrities will play holes 1, 2, 3, 17 & 18, vying for a $100,000 purse which will be donated to their favorite charities. This year the event will include a $100,000 Hole-In-One challenge on Pebble’s par-3 17th hole – any celebrity who makes a hole-in-one will earn a $100,000 bonus from 3M for their charity.
The lineup for the 2013 celebrity challenge includes actor Josh Duhamel (Safe Haven), ESPN sportscaster Chris Berman, comedian Bill Murray (Bill needs no introduction to fans of the AT&T Pro-Am!), jazz musician Kenny G, country music artist Charles Kelley (Lady Antebellum), rock musician and longtime AT&T Pro-Am participant Huey Lewis, country music artist Jake Owen, comedian Ray Romano (who made his first cut in the pro-am competition here last year), pop/rock/country musician Darius Rucker (Hootie and the Blowfish), actor Andy Garcia (The Untouchables, Ocean’s Eleven & others), and Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers.
Bay Area pros playing in the AT&T Pro-Am
Several pro golfers who hail from the Bay Area and Northern California will be in the field at this year’s AT&T Pro-Am.
- James Hahn, a rookie PGA Tour pro who calls San Bruno home, will be in the field. Hahn, who plays out of Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, has gotten off to a great start in his first season as a member of the PGA Tour. The 2003 Cal grad has made four cuts in four events, notched two Top 25 finishes (including a T-4 at the Humana Challenge two weeks ago), and is currently 26th in the FedEx Cup standings.
- Mitch Lowe, a well-respected Bay Area PGA pro, is a PGA Class A member who has been teaching golf in Northern California since 1999. Currently on staff at Stanford University Golf Course, Mitch is a four-time Northern California PGA Player of the Year award (2000, 2005, 2009 and 2011) who has participated in many PGA Tour events, including the AT&T Pro-Am, Reno-Tahoe Open, the 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine, the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits and 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.
- Derek Ernst, another PGA Tour rookie, is a native of Woodland, California who grew up in Fresno. Derek attended UNLV and has played in four PGA Tour events, his first being the 2012 Frys.com Open, where he earned an entry via Monday qualifying and finished T-41. He subsequently earned his PGA Tour card with a T-17 finish at the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, and so far in 2013 has played in the Sony Open (T-59), the Humana Challenge (MC), and Farmers Insurance Open (MC).
- Stockton’s Ricky Barnes has been in the pro ranks since 2004. He counts among his most significant accomplishments a T-2 finish at the 2009 U.S. Open Championship at Bethpage, Long Island.
- Sacramento native Nick Watney is a Fresno State graduate who has been in the pro ranks since 2004, and has five PGA Tour victories to his credit. Watney finished T-4 in last year’s Fedex Cup standings.
- Charlie Wi, though a Southern California resident, played his college golf at Berkeley, and won the 1990 California State Amateur at Pebble Beach. In last year’s AT&T Pro-Am, Wi held at least a share of the lead for the first three rounds, including a 9-under 61 (tying his career low) at Monterey Peninsula Country Club that set the tournament-course record at MPCC. His round included a record-setting front-nine 28, besting 30s carded on that nine by Brian Gay and D.J. Trahan in 2010. He entered the final round with a three-stroke lead over Ken Duke, and though he was never able to fully recover from a three-putt double-bogey on the first hole, he fought back to finish with an even-par 72 for solo second behind Phil Mickelson (the fifth runner-up finish of Charlie’s career).
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