Winter-2022

P icture the scene: snow is falling, adding flake by flake to the three feet already piled up against the front door on this midwinter Sunday afternoon—that will have to be dealt with before work in the morning, but for now there are more pressing matters at hand. As the temperature hovers in the low twenties, a crackling fire keeps that comfortably at bay in this cozy Midwestern American home. A pair of overstuffed armchairs are positioned in front of a big screen TV in the den, with snacks and bev- erages at hand. As the screen shows an aerial shot of lush green grass bordered by a deep blue ocean, looked over by a cloudless sky, the mellifluous baritone of veteran CBS Sports announcer Jim Nantz booms from the audio system. “Hello, friends,” he says. “Welcome to the 2023 Pebble Beach AT&T Pro-Am.” “The AT&T is the postcard for the PGATour,” Nantz says. “People sitting at home in the snow see these gorgeous images we send them, sit back and dream about being here.” And it’s not just the viewers who feel that pull.World famous actors, musicians, comedians, professional athletes and corporate figures dream of the day when a FedEx envelope from the Monterey Peninsula Foundation (MPF) lands in their hands bearing a coveted invitation to tee up at the Pebble Beach Golf Links. “This is the only tournament on the PGATour like it,” says Steve John, MPF CEO and Tournament Director. “It’s a great mashup of golfers wanting to be in the same place, at the same time and for the same reason.” “To me, the AT&T is the most important tour- 110 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 2 It’s easy to see why singer/movie star Bing Crosby chose to move his golf tour- nament—then known as “The Crosby” to Pebble Beach in 1947. Marc Howard/Monterey Peninsula Foundation