Snedeker's new swing validated with victory

PRO-AM WINNERS: The team title went to Pat Perez and his amateur partner, Michael Lund, who is one of the co-founders of Pandora Jewelry. The duo shot rounds of 60, 59, 63 and 63 to deny Brandt Snedeker and Toby Wilt a second pro-am in three years.

"It's the best week of my life," said Lund, who has an 8 handicap. "... Obviously when you come here you want to win, but I guess you just can't believe that it actually happened. So I'm loss of words." 

Perez ended up tied for fourth in the individual competition, closing with his third straight 68 to finish 17 under and five behind Snedeker. He seemed just as jazzed by the team title, though.        

"I kind of had a chance to win here but I knew I was going to have to play great to win on the individual," Perez said. "But I wanted it more for him than anything in the world, because I know what it means to him.  

"... It's almost like I won. I really wanted it for him and we had a great time."

Perez said he was worried about Lund and "tried to keep him calm." In a weird way maybe it took the pressure off Perez, who is beginning to see results after switching to a new swing coach, Drew Steckel.

"After Vegas I was at that point again where I go what am I going to do now?" Perez said. "I'm playing so bad, it's been such a horrendous run these last six months. He got me straightened around and I couldn't be happier. It was just a great building week. 
        
"I didn't win, but I felt like I won, because I hit a lot of great shot shots when I needed to on Sunday. I made some key putts that I needed to, and just I'm pretty happy about it. I'm looking forward to the year going forward now."

The lowest celebrity finisher was surfer Kelly Slater, who teamed with Marcel Siem to finish fourth. Dustin Johnson and his future father-in-law, NHL Hall of Famer, Wayne Gretzky, tied for sixth with Nick Watney and San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey and Jordan Spieth and country singer Jake Owen. 

WATNEY IN CONTENTION AGAIN: Nick Watney can take plenty of positives from Sunday's runner-up finish to Brandt Snedeker at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

After all, for the second straight week, the lanky Californian was in contention during the final round. He forced the issue early with birdies on his first four holes to seize the lead briefly, then birdied his last two to break out of the pack and claim second place alone. 

"It's a little bittersweet sitting here right now," Watney said. "But I'm very excited with the way that I'm playing and maybe next week."  

The finish was his best since he was second at the 2013 BMW Championship. Watney, who tied for seventh the previous week at the Farmers Insurance Open, will see if the third time is the charm this week at the Northern Trust Open. 

Watney is coming off an inconsistent year that saw his putting stats plummet just like his world ranking. He's no longer eligible for the Masters and World Golf Championships, which is a huge motivating factor for him.  

"It was just kind of a snowball thing," Watney explained. "Putting bad and then you try to hit it closer and you miss short side, you make bogeys. Then you try to make birdies, you make more bogeys. ... 

"I know what I need to work on, I'm doing it, and so the more distance I can put between myself and last year, the better." 

Watney, who grew up in Sacramento, was also worried that his subpar season in 2013-14 would have an effect on who his amateur partner would be at Pebble Beach. So he couldn't have been happier to find himself paired with San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey.

"He was pretty much the marquee draw, for this area anyway," said the die-hard Giants fan. "I don't know, maybe some movie stars people want to see on TV. But everyone around here wants to see Buster.      

"So when I got the pairing, I was thrilled. But then I was a little worried about being too happy being paired with him because he's somebody that I look up to and I root for really hard. 

"And I've heard the saying don't meet your heroes because you'll be disappointed. But that couldn't be farther from the truth. He's a better guy than he is a baseball player. That's saying a lot. So, we had a great time."

Posey told Watney to get in touch if he was ever in the area and wanted to go to a game. 

"I could watch him take BP or come into the clubhouse or whatever," Watney said. "I would be like a kid on Christmas for me." 

WEB.COM TOUR MILESTONE: With Brandt Snedeker's victory on Sunday, the Web.com Tour has reached yet another milestone. He's just posted the 400th PGA TOUR win by a Web.com Tour grad.

Snedeker made 61 starts on the Web.com Tour from 2004-2006. His best season was his last when Snedeker won twice and finished second once -- with all three decisions coming in playoffs -- to finish ninth on the money list.

The playoff loss came in Chattanooga, no less, where the popular Tennessean battled Kyle Reifers. Two weeks later, Snedeker, who played collegiately at Vanderbilt, won the Scholarship America Showdown at Somerby in extra holes with Jeff Quinney.

His second Web.com Tour win came in October at the Permian Basin Charity Classic in sudden death with Aron Price. He ended the season with $300,918 to earn his PGA TOUR card.

Snedeker's win at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am was the seventh of his TOUR career and the second on the Monterey Peninsula in the last three years.

JOHNSON BOUNCES BACK: Even though he missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open by a shot in his 2015 debut last week, Dustin Johnson felt pretty good about his game. And as it turns out, his faith was well-placed.

Johnson had even more success at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am as he fired a 66 on Sunday to move into a tie for fourth at 17 under. The two-time champ finished strong with birdies on his last two holes that really got the juices flowing.

"Second week back out playing and it keeps feeling better and it's getting close," Johnson said. "It's going to be really good here soon."

Johnson hit 11 fairways and 10 greens in regulation on Sunday while using just 22 putts for his best tally of the week.

"My short game's feeling good, my touch is coming back, and I really feel like I'm swinging well," Johnson said. "So, I think that next week's going to be a good week too."

The South Carolinian, who played this week with his future father-in-law, Wayne Gretzky, was to return to his adopted hometown of Los Angeles Sunday night. He'll play next week in the Northern Trust Open at storied Riviera where he wasrunner-up last year and has four top-10s total.

"I really like that golf course and I'm playing really well right now," Johnson said.

But there's another bonus -- he'll get to see his fiancee, Paulina Gretzky, and their newborn son, Tatum.

"My lady and my son are at home, so I did get some sleep this week," Johnson said. "But I can't wait to get home and see them tonight."

ACCIDENT AT THE 18TH: Matt Bettencourt's caddie, his brother-in-law Brian Rush, landed in the hospital on Sunday after being injured when he slipped down the craggy coastline beside the 18th fairway.

Bettencourt's tee shot had veered left and headed toward the Pacific Ocean. He and Rush could see several balls down on the beach, though, so they gingerly started picking their way down the hill.

"The tide was out on the beach, so we just made our way down the hill there and his left heel caught a piece of moss on the rock," Bettencourt said. "And I tried to grab him, was a couple inches away and the next thing I know -- I mean, he hit his head twice on the rock. He just bounced."

Rush suffered a concussion in the accident. He also broke his shoulder and sustained a compound fracture in his forearm.

It took 25 minutes for the EMTs to figure out exactly how to get Rush to safety without doing any more harm. They eventually had to strap him on a board and pull him up the hill.

Bettencourt, who was born in Alameda, California, had started on the 10th hole so he still had nine holes to play. A friend in the gallery, Carl Wesenberg, ended up toting his bag as Bettencourt finished off a 77 that was his high score of the week.

"It wasn't really good," he said. "... Just was kind of scared for him. When his bone went through his arm, it was compound, so that was bad."