Hello again from Classic Swing Golf School in Myrtle Beach South Carolina. It's tournament time again! This week, golfers who are working to improve their golf swing will also be watching the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. This event was originally known as the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am or the Crosby Clambake. While AT&T became the title sponsor in 1986, the event has been played since 1937. The first one was won by Sam Snead, his prize was $500. This week’s winner will get $1.15 million. Here's a a little primer to get you prepared:
Dustin Johnson took some time off, has a win this season and has thoroughly dominated Pebble Beach throughout the years (two wins, three top-10s here including that Dustin is playing with his girlfriend's dad (some dude named Wayne Gretzky) in the pro-am Open.
Is Dustin is the favorite to win? Some give the nod to Phil Mickelson or Brandt Snedeker, but Johnson is a top-five pick. According to Foxsports.com, Mickelson's grandfather, Al Santos, grew up in Monterey and had to leave school at age 9 to go to work. He was a caddie at Del Monte Golf Course and was among the first caddies to work at a new golf course that opened in 1919 called Pebble Beach.
''He always felt poor, and there were many days where he wasn't able to eat,'' Mickelson said.
Santos kept in his pocket a silver dollar from 1900 that he never spent. Instead, he rubbed the coin whenever he felt poor, a small comfort to know that he had money. He died in 2004, just months before Mickelson won the first of his four majors.
''I have that silver dollar today, and I've used it during the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as a marker, and will continue to do so,'' Mickelson said in a conference call last month. ''And he used to work, I believe, for 35 cents a bag around that course. And it's just a cool feeling to have the money that he cherished and also to see what we are now playing for in prize money, and how far the game of golf has come. It's a great reminder for me.''
With his win last week, Mickelson is approaching $69 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour.
Mickelson said his grandfather gave him an old Krugerrand that he keeps, along with some 50-cent pieces Mickelson's father gave him, and military coins he has collected over the years. But that 1900 silver dollar is special.
''His silver dollar is the one I prefer to mark with, especially in the competition at Pebble Beach,'' Mickelson said.
Classic Swing Golf School has earned many accolades on which to hang its hat. Classic Swing Golf School is honorably distinguished as one of the "Top 25 Golf Schools in America" by Golf Magazine and was also voted "The Best Golf School in Myrtle Beach" in 2008.
Classic Swing Golf School guarantees a maximum 3:1 student to teacher ratio in all golf schools and offers private golf lessons for those golfers that prefer one-on-one golf instruction. Classic Swing also offers custom golf club fitting. The staff of Classic Swing Golf School abides by their motto, "We Love What We Do and We GUARANTEE Improvement." We invite you to preview the Classic Swing Golf School experience today!
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