Win probabilities: THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – The chips were roughly from the same spot, right behind the green at Pebble Beach’s seventh hole, one of golf’s most famous par 3s. Ted Potter Jr. was leading his playing partner Dustin Johnson by one stroke. The chip-off turned out to be a pivotal moment in Sunday’s final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Johnson went first, his chip settling 5-1/2 feet past the pin. Potter was next – and his putt found the bottom of the cup, extending his lead to two shots. “I had seen how his landed and how his rolled out, so I knew it was a little firmer and a little faster that we both thought, I guess,â€� Potter said of the two chips. “So I definitely tried to get a little bit higher with some more spin, but it still landed pretty firm. “For it to hit the hole was definitely pleasing there.â€� A hole later, Johnson suffered a bogey at the par-4 after finding the greenside bunker to fall three back. Ultimately, that would be Potter’s margin of victory. The expected rally from Johnson never materialized. “Just didn’t have it,â€� said Johnson, the world’s top-ranked player. “I felt like I hit, even when I hit some really good shots it ended up in some terrible spots. “I felt like I hit a great shot into 8 and ended up making bogey. It was just kind of one of those days. It felt like all day I was in between clubs, so I was either trying to hit one hard or take something off of one and it just never — it just felt like all day just, it just did never really got in a rhythm out there.â€� Johnson had previously won twice at Pebble Beach, but even his final rounds then weren’t not memorable. In fact, one never happened, as his 2009 win was reduced to 54 holes due to bad weather. His win in 2010 came despite shooting 74 in the final round. Of the top 25 players in the final leaderboard, Johnson’s even-par 72 was higher than all but two players. “I shot 2-under here in 36 holes, which is not too good, especially as well as I feel like I’m playing,â€� said Johnson, who shot a 70 at Pebble Beach on Saturday. “But all in all, still a good week. T-2, I guess, is not terrible, but yeah, I would like to have put a little bit more pressure on Ted.â€� NOTEABLES What a wild par for Jason Day at the par-5 18th. Needing an eagle to have any hope, his second shot with driver off the deck landed on the beach below the small cliff left of the green. He had two choices: “I said I’m either going to play right now and man up and play right now or head back another 200 yards and play from there and I didn’t want to do that. So I just went up and I guessed on the line.â€� He climbed down to the ball and hit a third shot that landed in the bunker on the other side – and then got up and down, rolling in a 17-footer. “Holing that putt was nice. I wanted to really kind of finish strong.â€� Phil Mickelson was hoping to make some noise but after a bogey on the par-3 fifth, he was six shots off the lead. He then proceeded to play bogey-free the rest of the way, notching five birdies – including three in his last five holes. Like Day, he was seeking an eagle at 18 but found the bunker and settled for par. “It was nice to make some birdies coming down the stretch,â€� said the four-time champ. “It’s a little disappointing it wasn’t enough, but it’s another great week here at Pebble Beach.â€� A week ago, Chez Reavie lost in a playoff to Gary Woodland at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. This week, he played his way into another runner-up finish thanks to five birdies on his front nine. “I’ve been hitting the ball well for awhile and just haven’t quite been piecing it together,â€� Reavie said. “I think I figured out a way to piece it together.â€� After three straight birdies midway in his front nine, defending champ Jordan Spieth was on the move. But he couldn’t sustain the momentum. He gave back all three shots and didn’t make another birdie until the 18th, settling for a 71 and a tie for 20th. “My putting made tremendous progress this week,â€� he said. “I feel great about it going forward.â€� Kevin Streelman and his amateur partner, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, won the team portion of the event, leading wire to wire. Streelman finished at 13 under; as a team (with Fitzgerald’s 13 handicap), they finished at 41 under to win by 7 shots. “He struggles off the tee a little bit – that’s where his 13 comes from,â€� Streelman said of his partner. “… But from his amateur tees, he can hit his 3- and 4-iron and he’s great from inside of 150. He’s a great putter. So he just played awesome.â€� Fitzgerald called it one of his top sports achievements “because I’m out of my comfort zone. This is not like my profession. This is a passion of mine. I’m not great by any stretch of the imagination but it was wonderful to be able to participate in it.â€� QUOTEABLES I’m so happy right now to get it done today, especially against the world No. 1, playing with him today. And it was definitely, the win here at Pebble is just unbelievable. It’s beautiful.â€� I know Phil (Mickelson’s) walked down there before and slipped on his bum, so I didn’t want to do that    It was just one of those days where nothing went my way. CALL OF THE DAY SUPERLATIVES Low round –  Scott Stallings, Grayson Murray and Brandon Harkins each shot 6-under 66. Longest drive – Dustin Johnson’s 376-yard tee shot on the 10th hole. He made par on the hole Longest putt – Jordan Spieth had a 54-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fifth hole; it was the middle birdie of a three-birdie stretch.   Hardest holes – Par-5 14th, which played to a stroke average of 5.320. There were just 13 birdies there Sunday against 22 bogeys, six double bogeys and one other. Easiest holes – The par-5 2nd and the par-5 6th were the easiest, each playing to a stroke average of 4.467.

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Cameron Champ was born in a state best known for the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and the Silicon Valley’s innovative technology but as it turns out, he’s a country boy at heart. “It’s funny because I’m from California but I live in Texas and my friends always make fun of me because I drive a big truck and wear boots and Wranglers,â€� Champ explains with a shy smile. That truck is a lifted 2016 Chevy with a Duramax engine that Champ recently had rebuilt. Someday, he wants to be able to do all the work himself – he calls it his “escapeâ€� — but right now the PGA TOUR rookie is too busy winning golf tournaments to spend his days picking up a wrench and looking under the hood. Champ turned plenty of heads last week with a bevy of powerful drives that lifted him to victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship in only his second start on TOUR. But don’t look for him to splurge on a Ferrari or a Porsche any time soon. “I’m different,â€� Champ says. “I’d rather build something versus like guys going out and getting (a fancy car). “Obviously that’d be nice luxury to have but I’m more of like build an old classic like a ’69 Camaro or a ’78 Charger … or even an early 2000s decent car but then build up faster than those. I’m just that kind of guy.â€� Champ’s cousin Brian Wolf and a family friend he calls Uncle Tim who used to drag race fostered his interest in tinkering with cars. Several of his friends in the Lone Star State – Champ attended Texas A&M and has settled in San Antonio – like working on diesels, too. One thing he has noticed in working around cars is that there is always something better, bigger and faster on the horizon. “It’s almost like a cult in a sense,â€� Champ says with a grin. “Just because it’s like, they always want to do something. There’s always something wrong. Always something that you want to fix. “So, yeah, it’s been fun. It’s kind of like I said, my escape when I’m home. That’s kind of all I look forward to.â€� On the rare occasion these days when Champ is home in Texas he likes to study how engines go together. His cousin, who can take an engine apart and put it back together in a matter of days, is a valuable resource. “I’m still in that learning aspect of doing all that myself,â€� he explains. “When I’m home alone, I’ll just look up how to do things just to learn because I haven’t fully built an engine myself yet which is something I want to do one day.â€� Eventually, Champ plans to get a builder car that he can find ways to enhance. He finds the work “peacefulâ€� and says he’s always enjoyed putting things together, even as a child. “I just kind of finished mine and it’s more of a daily driver,â€� Champ says. “But I want something faster. That’s how everyone I know in the racing industry is the same way. So it’s just kind of like a second love besides golf.â€� Champ has seen videos of Uncle Tim drag racing, and he’s also been to Sonoma Raceway several times. He likes Formula One racing and will watch NASCAR events, although he’s not as much of a fan of that sport. Television shows like the Discovery Channel’s docu-reality series “Street Outlaws,â€� which offers an inside look at drag racing both on the road and behind the scenes in cities across the country, are also among Champ’s favorites. “So it’s just kind of all just added up,â€� Champ says simply. Down the road, the 23-year-old sees himself potentially collecting cars. The low-key rookie would just like to add to his bank account before making any big purchases, though. “It’s a very expensive hobby,â€� Champ explains. “So I say just starting slow with my own and just kind of go from there.â€� The way things are going right now, though, he might be able to add to his collection sooner rather than later.    

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