- Home
- Sporting Scene
- Lowery Claims AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am; Singh Crumbles
Lowery Claims AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am; Singh Crumbles
- By James Raia
- Published 02/13/2008
- Sporting Scene
James Raia
James Raia has been writing about the Monterey Peninsula for more than 20 years. He's also editor and publisher of the web sites:
ByJamesRaia.com
GolfTribune.com
MontereyPeninsula.org
TheWeeklyDriver.com
Steve Lowery, the 47-year-old possessor of a scraggly goatee, protruding belly and a steady putter, is now also owner of his third PGA Tour title.
Lowery, whose last victory occurred eight seasons and 198 tournaments ago, rallied from a three-stroke, back-nine deficit Sunday to claim a one-stroke playoff victory over Vijay Singh at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Lowery began the final round at Pebble Beach trailing co-leaders Dudley Hart and Singh by three shots. But Lowery, who finished with a 68, made a 19-foot putt on the 17th hole to move into a one-stroke margin over Singh and followed with a seven-foot winning birdie on the first playoff, the 18th hole, at Pebble Beach Golf Liinks.
The twosome’s regulation finish was the highest since Johnny Miller won his second AT&T title at 7-under 281 in 1994.
Lowery’s $1,080,000 check was nearly double his previous largest payday since joining the PGA Tour full-time in 1988. And his earnings were also slightly more than twice what he earned in 15 events last season when he finished 148th on the money list.
Lowery’s title also continued his career of unique statistics. All of his three PGA Tour titles have been playoff wins, and he&#
8217;s also had six runner-up finishes.
Singh, third among active players with 31 PGA Tour victories, maintained his three-stroke over Lowery at 12-under midway through the 14th hole. But Lowery, playing one group ahead, bogeyed the hole, as did Singh.
The lost opportunity was the catalyst for Singh’s demise. He followed with bogeys on the 15th and 16th, prompting a four-way tie with Lowery as well as Corey Pavin and John Mallinger, both of whom had already finished.
Singh pared the 17th, but his three-footer nearly circled cup before falling. Singh’s tee shot on the 18th veered right hit a small fairway tree before bouncing a few feet back into the fairway.
Singh, the event’s 2004 winner, hit his approach from 44 yards to two feet and made birdie for a 71, his worst round of the tournament.
The co-leaders then returned to 18th. Lowery’s smooth and steady third shot on the par 5 set up his winning birdie. Singh, whose success has been marked with a near-robotic steadiness, short-circuited. He twice hit into fairway bunkers before finishing with a par.
Hart, playing via a new “Family Crisis” extension after his wife’s diagnosis and recovery from a lung tumor last May, fell to six under. But he birdied the final three holes en route to a 72. Hart joined Pavin and Mallinger in a third-place tie a 9-under 279.
Lowery, whose last victory occurred eight seasons and 198 tournaments ago, rallied from a three-stroke, back-nine deficit Sunday to claim a one-stroke playoff victory over Vijay Singh at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Lowery began the final round at Pebble Beach trailing co-leaders Dudley Hart and Singh by three shots. But Lowery, who finished with a 68, made a 19-foot putt on the 17th hole to move into a one-stroke margin over Singh and followed with a seven-foot winning birdie on the first playoff, the 18th hole, at Pebble Beach Golf Liinks.
The twosome’s regulation finish was the highest since Johnny Miller won his second AT&T title at 7-under 281 in 1994.
Lowery’s $1,080,000 check was nearly double his previous largest payday since joining the PGA Tour full-time in 1988. And his earnings were also slightly more than twice what he earned in 15 events last season when he finished 148th on the money list.
Lowery’s title also continued his career of unique statistics. All of his three PGA Tour titles have been playoff wins, and he&#
Singh, third among active players with 31 PGA Tour victories, maintained his three-stroke over Lowery at 12-under midway through the 14th hole. But Lowery, playing one group ahead, bogeyed the hole, as did Singh.
The lost opportunity was the catalyst for Singh’s demise. He followed with bogeys on the 15th and 16th, prompting a four-way tie with Lowery as well as Corey Pavin and John Mallinger, both of whom had already finished.
Singh pared the 17th, but his three-footer nearly circled cup before falling. Singh’s tee shot on the 18th veered right hit a small fairway tree before bouncing a few feet back into the fairway.
Singh, the event’s 2004 winner, hit his approach from 44 yards to two feet and made birdie for a 71, his worst round of the tournament.
The co-leaders then returned to 18th. Lowery’s smooth and steady third shot on the par 5 set up his winning birdie. Singh, whose success has been marked with a near-robotic steadiness, short-circuited. He twice hit into fairway bunkers before finishing with a par.
Hart, playing via a new “Family Crisis” extension after his wife’s diagnosis and recovery from a lung tumor last May, fell to six under. But he birdied the final three holes en route to a 72. Hart joined Pavin and Mallinger in a third-place tie a 9-under 279.