PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - With its alabaster beaches and arresting curves, the Monterey Peninsula is perpetually ready for its close-up. So it is fitting that it is the one stop on the PGA Tour where the celebrity amateurs are the headliners.
The tournament that once carried Bing Crosby’s imprimatur has come to be known more recently as the divot-pocked domain of the actor Bill Murray, whose triumph in last year’s pro-am overshadowed his partner D.A. Points’ first PGA Tour victory.
“I got the program and I looked at the tickets and I thought: ‘Wait a minute. Didn’t I win?’ ” Points said Tuesday. “There are pictures of Bill everywhere. I’m like driving down the highway, I see a billboard, and there is Bill. There is Tiger. I’m like, ‘Where am I?’ ”
This year’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which starts today, features the power coupling of Tiger Woods, the 14-time major champion, with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
Woods said Romo has been “grinding hard” to get ready for the tournament.
“He’s into the game because post-football, he wants to play golf,” Woods said. “He wants to maybe give it a run on the mini tours or the senior tour eventually.”
Romo is hardly alone among celebrity amateurs in thinking the grass is greener on the tours’ fairways.
Actor Lucas Black, 29, who is paired with Rickie Fowler, is a scratch golfer who portrayed a touring pro in last year’s movie “Seven Days in Utopia.”
Black takes a different approach than Murray, who plays to the crowd in between shots, cracking jokes and playing pranks, occasionally at Points’ expense.
“I learned quickly that he’s there to entertain the people that are watching,” Points said.
Black said: “If I’m hitting a golf ball, there’s nothing else I’m thinking of. I’m kind of zoned in.”
Golf is the only sport that requires its athletes to work alongside amateurs.
“Obviously, you can’t walk out when Derek Jeter’s fielding grounders against the Red Sox, which would be awesome,” second-year pro Blake Adams said.
This week’s stage requires the pros to play many roles: competitor, swing coach, caddie and straight man.
The celebrity presence, Points said, “Gets the fans and everybody really excited. Sometimes that’s a sacrifice that I guess we have to make for the greater good of this tournament and the growth of golf.”
Two years ago, actor Rob Morrow played in the Pebble Beach pro-am and wrote about the experience in the eBook “The Actor’s Nightmare.”
Morrow said he prepared for the tournament the same way he does for a scene; he broke his game down into small pieces and went over each until it became second nature.
“I am an actor,” Morrow wrote, “and we pride ourselves on muscle memory. I can repeat many complicated movements.”
Compared to golf, acting is simple, Black said.
“The thing about acting is I get a second chance if I mess up,” he explained. “In golf, you’ve got to do it on command.”
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.