Posted by Jason Sobel
If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? Perhaps. If a tree falls on the 17th hole at Poppy Hills and the largest gallery on the course shrieks and gasps at its impact, does all remain calm? Surprisingly, yes.
Such was the case in the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Thursday, as an 80-foot tree broke off 10 feet up its trunk, causing fans to scatter in every direction. Complicating matters was the fact that funnyman Bill Murray, one of the biggest attractions at the event, was playing the hole at the time, along with professional partners Scott Simpson and Jeff Sluman.
Fortunately, thankfully, no players or spectators were injured when the tree came crashing to the ground.
"We were so lucky no one got killed," Simpson said after the round.
In his usual deadpan delivery, Murray told Golf Channel of one fellow who was taking a catnap next to the tree, who simply remained prone and unharmed when the incident occurred.
According to Brett Avery, who's blogging for PGATour.com, the outside of the tree looked healthy, though the inside appeared to be rotting after it broke off.
The tournament was plagued by wind gusts of up to 30 mph throughout the first round on all three courses.
Q School blues: Good news: You're a full-time member of the PGA Tour for 2007. Bad news: You won't be able to compete in many events.
Doesn't make much sense, does it? But that is exactly the situation for the dozen players who finished T-29 at the annual Qualifying Tournament on Dec. 4. The event grants full playing privileges to the top 30 finishers after six days, but rather than conduct a playoff for those tied for the spot, the invitation is simply extended to everyone.
That's all well and good, but actually plying their craft has been tougher than it may seem for Mark Wilson, Bob May, Jonathan Kaye, Steve Allan, Jason Schultz, D.J. Brigman, Kyle Reifers, Brian Bateman, Matt Hendrix, Dicky Pride, Michael Bradley and Jaco Van Zyl. Most PGA Tour fields include only 144 or 156 players and since these 12 were the final guys to clinch their cards, they often don't gain access into events, despite having full membership.
Call it the ultimate Catch-22.
Just getting an opportunity is pretty big for this group of guys. Through the first four weeks of this season (I won't count the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship, since obviously none were eligible), these dozen players have combined to make a grand total of 12 starts on tour. They've made the cut in exactly half of those, with Wilson leading the way (two made cuts in two starts; $55,277 earned). In fact, if you combined the haul of all 12 guys, they'd have $127,037 and rank only 58th on the money list -- right behind Brett Quigley.
I bring up the situation this week, because the AT&T features the largest field of the season, with 180 total competitors. That detail, coupled with the fact that many top players are taking the week off, has allowed for all but one of the 29th-place finishers from Q School (Kaye isn't in the field) to compete on the Monterey Peninsula.
And some of these players took full advantage of the opportunity on Thursday. Schultz found himself atop the leaderboard for much of the day, making birdies on six of his first 10 holes at Spyglass Hill before finishing with a 5-under 67 for the round, leaving him two strokes behind leaders Phil Mickelson, Nick Watney and John Mallinger.
Hendrix and Wilson were a few shots further back, each posting a 2-under 70 on the opening day.
Every player wants to fair well at this week's event, but with limited chances to play throughout this season, expect the Q Schoolers to really feel the pressure to succeed.
