Pebble Beach Pro Am 2016

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Pebble Beach Pro Am 2016 – A Photobomb Finish

We borrow from the current lexicon of youth culture to describe the inconceivable finish which again has denied Phil Mickelson a win at PBPA.

Round One ended with Chez Reavie playing the game of his life, shooting a nine under par 63. Our final top ten are scatter among the top 54 players with Patrick Reed posting an even 72 on the day.
At the end of Round Two, the top ten finishers have grouped into the top 19 ranks. Strong candidates for the win in the persons of Hiroshi Iwata, Phil Mickelson, Freddie Jacobson and Jonas Blixt are already ensconced in the top ten. The phantom, Vaughn Taylor, is six strokes back – nobody is following his progress.
After Round Three, Phil Mickelson has a two stroke cushion over second round leader Iwata. The top ten are still scattered among the top 23 slots on the tournament board but four out of the top five finishers are in the top five slots. Vaughn Taylor is number eight on the leader board and six strokes back of Mickelson.
At some point before the tee-off for the fourth round, a coyote traipsed across the starting fairway because players like Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka who had struggled up to this point suddenly improved and vaulted 17 and 8 spots respectively to claim a top ten position. With the laurels come the lashes – this time at Phil Mickelson’s expense as he coughed up an even part effort on this final day. But wait, who was that who shot a seven under final round? It was Vaughn Taylor…effectively parachuting into the top spot to claim the big check…after going more than a decade without a tour win.
Congratulations to Mr. Taylor for providing that rare unexpected outcome in a game of highly-qualified professionals.

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