PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Wyndham Clark was announced as the winner of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Sunday evening, when the PGA Tour canceled the final round because of bad weather that would last the next day and safety concerns.
Clark's final stroke on Saturday was a two-putt birdie from 25 feet, giving him a course record 12-under 60 and a one-shot lead over Ludwig Aberg, who missed a long eagle putt on the par-5 18th hole.
Clark didn't have to take another shot.
Overnight rain drenched Pebble Beach, followed by gusty winds that led to the postponement of the PGA Tour's final round with hopes of play on Monday.
Storm, known as “Atmospheric River” It hit California for the second time, lasting until Monday morning. With conditions expected to improve, Monterey County emergency officials urged residents to stay indoors.
“Out of an abundance of caution for the safety of all members, there will be no play on Monday,” the PGA Tour said in announcing the 54-hole tournament and Clark the winner.
Clark earned his third win in the last nine months, all big with a $3.6 million payday. He won the Wells Fargo Championship and his first major at last year's US Open at Los Angeles Country Club.
But it was a lackluster start to the PGA Tour's new season of “signature events” on network television. Pebble Beach, one of the most famous courses in the world, has been its strongest course for decades. CBS was ready for a telecast when the NFL didn't play before the Super Bowl.
And then no golf.
Pebble Beach received nearly an inch of rain overnight after receiving overnight rain Thursday and Friday. Rain fell on Sunday, pushed by 60 mph winds and tearing tarps from small toilets and fences and TV towers. The camera used for shotlink data collection was also cropped.
According to PGA Tour guidelines, the final round could not have started on Monday if it was unlikely to finish. Gary Young, the head referee, had said that the “drop dead time” would end at 10:15 am.
The decision was made after consultation with Monterey County. Highway signs during the day recommended no travel until Monday night due to severe weather.
Clark finished at 17-under 199.
He is the fifth player to win Pebble Beach over 54 runs since AT&T became the title sponsor in 1986 — all of them major champions. The others were Dustin Johnson in 2009, Payne Stewart in 1999, Phil Mickelson in 1998 and Fuzzy Zoller in 1986.
Stewart birdied his final hole on Saturday, the year the final round was wiped out by rain and a storm system that stretched from the Monterey Peninsula to Japan.
Clark is the first 54-hole winner on the PGA Tour since Brian Steward at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans in 2016.
A pebbly beach is not a happy meeting of land and sea. Instead it was angry. On the 18th, the Golf Channel posted images of waves crashing from rocks to rocks, sea spray over the bunker and onto the fairway.
The PGA Tour has already decided that spectators will not be allowed if golf is played on Sunday. All competition facilities in Pebble Beach were closed.
Clark said he learned of the forecast Saturday afternoon. He opened the third round with a six-shot lead when he set the course record with a 60.
“I definitely thought about how bad the weather was going to be last night and this morning,” he said. “Today is the last day, so you have to have the mentality to try to break through. That being said, it's very rare that we have 54 holes, so I wasn't banking on it, and I'm still not banking on it.
France's Mathieu Pavon tied for third with a birdie on the final hole on Saturday. Pawan was coming off a win at Torrey Pines and his finish at Pebble moved him to No. 1 in the FedEx Cup. The season is five games older, but no less amazing. Pavon birdied his last four holes last year to earn the last of 10 PGA Tour cards awarded to European Tour players.
Mark Hubbard and Thomas Detry tied for fourth and each scored 312.5 points toward the FedEx Cup.
With 80 amateurs for the opening two rounds, the tour would have to drop below 60th in last year's FedEx Cup to fill the field to 80 players who would not have qualified for Pebble Beach.
___
AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
