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SPORTSMonday 15 February 2016
Taylor rallies to win Pebble Beach for 1st win in a decade
DOUG FERGUSON Vaughn Taylor, left, poses with his trophy and Clint Eastwood, right, on the 18th green of the Pebble Coming out of the rough
AP Golf Writer Beach Golf Links after winning the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament Sunday, on the 15th, his ball hit the
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) Feb. 14, 2016, in Pebble Beach, Calif. Taylor won the tournament by one stroke over Phil Mickel- golf ball of Matt Jones and
— Vaughn Taylor doesn’t son. settled 2 feet away for a
know how he lost his game. third straight birdie.
Even more mystifying was Associated Press The real blow came at
the way it returned. the 16th, a 30-foot birdie
His goal Sunday when he then delivered two good world and had never won Jonas Blixt, the first player to putt on one of the tough-
teed off in the AT&T Pebble shots to within 60 feet of the a tournament against the catch Mickelson, made bo- est greens at Pebble. He
Beach Pro-Am, trailing Phil hole, just short of the green best players. His previous gey on the par-5 14th to fall rammed it hard enough
Mickelson by six shots, was on the par-5 18th. two victories were the Re- back and closed with four and watched it break back
to finish in the top 10 so “It never crossed my mind no-Tahoe Open (2004 and pars for a 69 to finish third. into the cup, and Taylor
he wouldn’t have to rush that I wouldn’t make that 2005), which is held oppo- Hiroshi Iwata of Japan, ran around the green to
down to Los Angeles and one,” Mickelson said after site a World Golf Champi- who played with Mickelson celebrate.
try to qualify for the next his 72. onship. He had a scare two in the final group, was one “I’ve had that putt before.
PGA Tour event. Taylor had never given up years ago when his alumi- shot behind until he missed It’s a hard putt,” Taylor said.
It had been more than on his career, though he num fishing boat capsized the 16th green and made “I wasn’t even thinking
a decade since he won. was starting to rule out an- in a strong current, leading bogey. He closed with a 72 about making that putt. I
It had been three years other victory, and he never to a few moment of panic to tie for fourth with Freddie knew it broke a lot, and it’s
since he had a full PGA imagined returning home with cold water up his chin Jacobson (71). a little uphill at the end. It’s
Tour card. And just 10 days to Augusta, Georgia, to and a park ranger guiding Taylor didn’t look like much really easy to leave that
ago, Taylor was throwing play in the Masters. He is him to shore. of a threat when he went putt short. I just flushed it. It
up in his hotel room in Bo- the first player this year to He finished at 17-under 270 out in 34, but he poured was kind of going in from
gota, Colombia, so sick qualify by winning. and earned $1.26 million, it on the back nine. He hit the start.”
that he withdrew from a “Playing in the Masters is which is about $165,000 his approach to 3 feet on He missed two good birdie
Web.com Tour event and my Super Bowl,” Taylor said. more than he made the the 13th and to 12 feet on chances on the last two
flew to Pebble Beach as an Taylor was No. 447 in the last three years combined. the dangerous par-5 14th. holes, but still wound up a
alternate. The one-time Ry- winner.
der Cup player only had a Taylor didn’t even real-
carry bag with him to save ize he was in the Pebble
money on baggage fees. Beach Pro-Am — he still
Taylor ran off four straight has limited status as a past
birdies on the back nine PGA Tour winner — un-
at Pebble Beach to close til Monday when he was
with a 7-under 65, and he learned Cal Pettersen had
wasn’t sure it was enough withdrawn. That no longer
when Mickelson stood over is a problem. He’s in the
a 5-foot birdie putt to force Masters and PGA Champi-
a playoff. And then Taylor onship, and he gets to set
got one last surprise. his own schedule for the
Mickelson missed. next two years.
“Just absolutely amazing,” Jordan Spieth, the world’s
Taylor said. “Didn’t know No. 1 player, closed with a
if it would ever happen 66 and tied for 21st, ending
again, to be honest. Just his streak of seven straight
lost a lot of confidence, lost top 10s dating to Septem-
a good bit of my game. I ber. Mickelson at least left
just kept working, grinding Pebble believing he was
and kept at it. And I can’t closer to ending the lon-
believe it actually hap- gest victory drought of his
pened today.” pro career that dates to
Neither could Mickelson. the 2013 British Open.
Lefty was going for his re- “It’s certainly disappoint-
cord-tying fifth victory at ing, but it makes me more
Pebble Beach, and the determined to get back
43rd title of his Hall of Fame to work and get this thing
career. He had a two- right,” he said. “I know that
shot lead to start the final I’m close to being where
round, lost the lead after I want to be. But if I was
five holes, rallied with a there, I would have been
birdie on the 17th hole and able to finish it off.”q
