Wiebe recounts unlikely road to spot in Farmers field

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SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The Century Club of San Diego, which runs the Farmers Insurance Open, for years has held one spot in the field for an amateur qualifier in San Diego. This year it went to Gunner Wiebe, son of former PGA TOUR player Mark Wiebe.

And it was not the ordinary qualifier.

For starters, Wiebe hit a 3-iron to 4 feet on the 18th hole for an eagle to get into a playoff. His opponent? Tim Mickelson, not only the brother of Phil Mickelson, but Wiebe's golf coach at the University of San Diego.

The playoff went four holes before darkness kept them from continuing. Instead of resuming a sudden-death playoff, they agreed to play 18 holes. Wiebe won by one shot.

"I was a little concerned since he controls the lineup and kind of controls my fate for the rest of the spring that maybe he'd pull me out of an event, maybe the first one, just to take a little jab at me," Wiebe said. "But coach was great. He handled it very well, really polite, and congratulated me on the win. And he has been nothing but nice since."

The unusual circumstances didn't end with the playoff.

After his press conference Wednesday, Wiebe had a pair of three-hour classes to attend at San Diego.

"Then I'll wake up and play Torrey South tomorrow morning," he said.