The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was started by famous crooner Bing Crosby in 1937. Bing was alleged by his son, Gary, to have been an abusive father. Bing's other son, Phillip, vigorously disputes this claim, saying his brother made the allegations out of greed in order to sell his book, Going My Own Way. I don't know what the truth is. What I know is that I was spanked with: rulers, wooden spoons and, on one occasion, a 2-1/2 foot architectural T-square. I deserved it, but such action would bring CPS on the scene quicker than news of a pool party at Tommy Lee's place would today. I grew up in the late-'70s and early-'80s, so I can only imagine that in the '50s and early '60s, the surgeon general was probably advising the nation to brand their children with forks heated on gas stoves for spilling their milk. (A treatment also known as Hell Night at the Phi Delt house...) I don't judge Bing in either case, because what I know of him (thanks to Wikipedia) is that the guy was a golf afficionado. How much of a golf-thingy was he, smart guy? you ask? Well, check this out:"Shortly after 6:00 p.m. on October 14, 1977, Bing Crosby died instantly when he suffered a massive heart attack after a round of eighteen holes of golf in Madrid, Spain. He was 74 years old. His last words were reported as, "That was a great game of golf, fellas." However, according to his companions and recorded by biographer Gary Giddens, Crosby then said, "Let's go get a Coke.""
Let me say this: Whether his last words were "That was a great game of golf, fellas," or "Let's go get a Coke," or "Let's go get some coke," if you told me I could die after 18 holes of golf in Madrid, but had to go tomorrow, I would take the deal like 5-for-$5.55 at Arby's.
And let's not forget Bing's love of soft drugs. Again, from Wikipedia:
"Crosby reportedly overindulged in alcohol in his youth, and may have been dismissed from Paul Whiteman's orchestra because of it. He later got a handle on his drinking, but his first wife Dixie Lee was an alcoholic. A 2001 biography of Crosby by Village Voice jazz critic Gary Giddins says that Louis Armstrong's influence on Bing "extended to his love of marijuana." Bing smoked it during his early career when it was legal and "surprised interviewers" in the 1960s and 70s by advocating its decriminalization, as did Armstrong. According to Giddins, Bing told his son Gary to stay away from alcohol ("It killed your mother") and suggested he smoke pot instead. Gary said, "There were other times when marijuana was mentioned and he'd get a smile on his face." Gary thought his father's pot smoking had influenced his easy-going style in his films. Crosby also smoked two packs of cigarettes a day until his second wife made him stop. He finally quit smoking his pipe and cigars following lung surgery in 1974.
Nice. This guy needs to become, and pending approval of the Commish shall hereafter be known as, The Honorary Commissioner Emeritus of the FGA.
Turning now to his tournament, FIGJAM won this year's Pebble Beach Pro-Am with a vicious late round charge. In short, he ran away with the fucker. Let there be no doubt about it--the guy is good. According to the afore-linked article, Phil took 3 months off golf after the U.S. Open. To the rest of us, this is known as "winter" but to Phil it's a sabbatical. I think this explains his slow start this year, and may contibute to this being a strong year for him. Here's the leaderboard:
| 1 | Phil Mickelson | -20 | F | $990,000 | 65 | 67 | 70 | 66 | 268 |
| 2 | Kevin Sutherland | -15 | F | $594,000 | 72 | 63 | 67 | 71 | 273 |
| 3 | John Mallinger | -14 | F | $374,000 | 65 | 70 | 68 | 71 | 274 |
| T4 | Greg Owen | -12 | F | $242,000 | 68 | 70 | 71 | 67 | 276 |
| T4 | Davis Love III | -12 | F | $242,000 | 70 | 67 | 70 | 69 | 276 |
| T6 | Matt Kuchar | -11 | F | $184,250 | 72 | 69 | 70 | 66 | 277 |
| T6 | Jim Furyk | -11 | F | $184,250 | 67 | 65 | 76 | 69 | 277 |
| T6 | Corey Pavin | -11 | F | $184,250 | 68 | 72 | 67 | 70 | 277 |
| T9 | Ryan Armour | -10 | F | $154,000 | 68 | 71 | 72 | 67 | 278 |
| T9 | Ted Purdy | -10 | F | $154,000 | 73 | 70 | 68 | 67 | 278 |
| T11 | Camilo Villegas | -9 | F | $116,600 | 73 | 70 | 69 | 67 | 279 |
Question: Phil will likely play more tournaments than Tiger this year, especially considering that Tiger's half-human, half-Norse deity child is to be born in June. Given this, and his "New Phil" golf attitude, which will likely be accentuated by his Mama Cass-like choke at the U.S Open, is Phil the first pick this year over Tiger in the FGA Draft.?
Think about it. That's all I'm saying. Also, think about a blonde Rachael McAdams...
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