D.A. Points won for the first time on the PGA Tour and wasn’t even the biggest star.
That’s what made this Pebble Beach National Pro-Am so special.
Points grew up idolizing Bill Murray, whether it was his “Caddyshack” role as the assistant greenskeeper at Bushwood or his antics at Pebble Beach over the years. To have him as an amateur partner made this week great before it even started.
Then came Sunday, when Points holed out from 100 yards for eagle on the diabolical 14th at Pebble Beach to take the lead. That carried him to a 5-under 67 and a two-shot victory. Making it even sweeter, they won the pro-am title, a first for Murray, who now gets his name on the wall below the first tee.
This really was a Cinderella story.
“It’s a dream come true,” Points said. “To win on the PGA Tour, and especially at Pebble Beach, and especially with Bill Murray … I don’t think I could dream this up.”
Indeed, it was surreal at times.
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One shot behind and facing the scariest shot at Pebble Beach that doesn’t involve the Pacific Ocean, Points hit a gap wedge that barely cleared the bunker on the par-5 14th, landed in the first cut of rough and trickled down the slope and into the hole. He followed that with a bending, 30-foot birdie putt for a two-stroke lead that made Murray laugh because he didn’t know what else to do.
And when Points felt his greatest pressure, he had some comic relief of his own.
He faced a 6-foot par putt on the 16th hole, and when his caddie asked him how he felt, Points replied, “Not very good.”
That’s when he decided to take a page from Murray. As his partner stood over a long putt, Points hollered at him, “The crowd would be really happy if you could make that.”
The gallery roared with laughter. Murray narrowly missed. More importantly, Points made his putt and sailed home with easy pars.
“It totally took me out of the moment for just enough to kind of help bring me back to life a little bit,” Points said.
