I flew back out to California on Sunday and met Kevin early Monday morning at Pebble Beach. The ATT Pro-am was played on three courses (Spyglass Hill, Monterey Peninsula and Pebble Beach) so we needed to get a practice round in on each before Thursday. The weather was perfect Monday through Wednesday but turned nasty by the time the tournament started. Rain, wind and cold were the words that described the rest of the week. Thursday's round was at Spyglass and we were able to get around in at par (72) even though we didn't hit it well early in the round. Fridays round was at Monterey and it was the best ball striking round of the week. Kevin got it to four under through eight holes and then we held on for dear life as we made the turn back into the wind to finish the day. The wind was so strong that solid drives were only going 225 yards and 3 irons were going 170 yards. His two under (70) was one of the best rounds for the day.
Saturday's round was on Pebble and the winds were up again. With the exception of the opening drive on ten that found the ocean, Kevin played solid in the tough conditions. Play was suspended for a few hours because the wind was so strong, as it was blowing balls on the greens. After opening with a double bogey, we finished the day with a three over par (75). His one over total put us in a tie for 64th but because 25 amateurs also make the cut and play on Sunday, the "playing" cut for the professionals this week was the top 60 and ties. So, even though Kevin earns FedEx points and money for his 64th place, it left us one shot out of making the "playing cut" for Sunday and we did not have the opportunity to improve our position. Then, making it sting a little more, Kevin and his amateur partner shot 18 under par and made the team cut so we had to play on Sunday anyway as a team.
Because of the late finish on Sunday, Kevin was not able to catch his flight to LA, so he made the five hour drive with me to LA. On the drive to LA, we found out that because there were three guys that finished in the top 10 at Pebble, we were now third alternate for the Northern Trust Open. On Monday, we went out to Riviera and played in the Monday pro-am as our practice round. Kevin was not feeling well so he took Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday off. Tuesday morning we moved up to second alternate so on Wednesday we had a nice afternoon practice session and got prepared just in case we got into the tournament. As it turned out, only one other player withdrew, leaving us the first man on the outside looking in.
After spending 7.5 hours at the golf course on Thursday waiting to see if everyone was going to play, we left the course and headed toward the airport. On the way, Kevin was able to get the last seat on a flight leaving at 2:45. Without any time to spare, we got him on the flight and he headed home. Unfortunately for me, due to the weather back home, I was not able to find a flight home until Saturday. We are off again next week and then the "Florida swing" starts in Palm Beach, FL at the Honda Classic. With the next reshuffle for our category coming after this week, we will once again be close to getting into the event. Kevin is projected to drop to 20th in his category and that will be very close to the number that will get into the Honda. He is planning on entering the Monday qualifier if we do not get into the field.
