WGT Golf News

Another exciting finish on the PGA Tour, this week at the Northern Trust Open at Riveria Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California.

Phil Mickelson had the early lead, but his putting slipped on Sunday, letting the rest of the field back into the tournament. Bill Haas posted a 69 for the lead in the clubhouse, forcing Mickelson and his playing partner Keegan Bradley to birdie the difficult 18th hole for a tie...a hole that had only yielded only 6 birdies all day.

In dramatic fashion and in front of a huge gallery, Mickelson drained his 25' putt AND then Bradley made his 12' putt, for a pair of birdies and a 3-way playoff with Haas. 

The first playoff hole (#18) was all pars, and on the short par 4 second hole (#10), all three players had difficult approach shots, but Haas stunned everyone, playing a safe chip shot and then making a 45' putt for the win.

All three players are at the top of their games. Haas with his first win in 2012 after winning the 2011 FedEx Cup with that famous chip out of the water at the Tour Championship. Bradley is one of the rising stars on the PGA Tour with his 2011 PGA Championship. And Mickelson is coming off his 40th career victory last week at Pebble Beach over Tiger Woods.

Dustin Johnson fell victim to his short game again, missing some chips and putts to finish fourth. Also tied in fourth place was Sergio Garcia, in his first PGA appearance of the year, with 2 eagles and 5 birdies for 64, the low-round of the day.

Full PGA Tour Leaderboard

Editor's Note: Did you catch rookie Keegan Bradley fist-pumping veteran Phil Mickelson after his 18th hole putt? Then Mickelson told Bradley "Join me!" Where else do you see that in professional sports. That's why we love golf!

In Round Two of the Northern Trust Open, held at the Riviera Country Club golf course in California, Phil Mickelson held on to his first place lead with a lob wedge from the fairway to eagle the par-four eighth on the way to a six-under total of 136. That carried him to a 1-under 70 and a two-shot lead in the tournament today. 

Mickelson, who recently won his 40th PGA Tour title at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, currently has a one-shot advantage over Sweden’s Carl Pettersson, who is two-under through 16 holes Friday and five-under for the tournament.

Jimmy Walker joined Pettersson at four under after a 66, with Matt Kuchar alongside him thanks to a second straight 69. Luke Donald and Justin Rose, one under overnight, were among the later starters, while Pádraig Harrington shot a second round of 70 for a two-over total, with the cut projected to be on that mark. Sergio Garcia was three over in total after six bogeys in a five-over round of 76.

Visit WGT for updates on the tournament.

Congratulations to the winners of the WGT Winter Tour - January Qualifier and Championship rounds!

The top three players from the final January Championship round have qualified to compete in the WGT Winter Tour Final Championship round. The top three players are:

1. BolloxInBruges

2. Dianne81

3. mohuyu

It's not only top WGT golf players who win prizes in the Qualifier rounds, as there are random sweepstakes prizes awarded to players at all Tiers in the January Qualifier. The following players each won the sweepstakes prize of 12 virtual NIKE golf balls:

JackNick85

stoner7205

oo1thomas

69Pitch

par84

KScotty12

DeanBarr

Additionally, thanks to the WGT Winter Tour sponsors at SkyCaddie, the following lucky sweepstakes winner won the SkyCaddie SGXw: captbird

Eligible tournament players with the Top 10 scores in the January Qualifier round received $100 Amazon Gift Cards, here are the top eligible tournament players from the tournament leaderboard:

1.  116 - BolloxInBruges

2.  116 - Dianne81

3.  117 - mohuyu

4.  117 - AllyKennedy

5.  117 - GEHL13

6.  118 - PRIESTESS

7.  119 - Wontonamo

8.  119 - Ffudd

9.  120 - RUNWME

10. 120 - JJ656

Don’t miss your chance to win free prizes in the WGT Winter Tour - February Qualifier round. The February Qualifier is a free 18-hole strokeplay tournament starting on the Bethpage Black golf course, and the Top 100 scores will play in the February Championship on Royal St George's and Congressional Country Club. 

LPGA golfer Natalie Gulbis is one of the female athletes featured in the annual Swimsuit edition of Sport Illustrated magazine, which was released this week and reaches over 70 million people worldwide.

Gulbis was joined by Olympic golf medalist swimmer Natalie Coughlin and USA Women's soccer player Alex Morgan. All three athletes posed in "bathing suits" that were actually carefully applied bodypaint.

See Natalie Gulbis in SI

Gulbis played golf at the University of Arizona with teammate Lorena Ochoa, and joined the LPGA in 2002. She's represented the USA on multiple international teams including the victorious USA Solheim Cup teams in 2005, 2007 and 2009. Her first LPGA victory came in the 2007 Evian Masters and she also won the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge in 2007 and 2009. Her best golf was probably in 2005-2006 when she finished in the Top 10 in all four LPGA major championships.

Gulbis has extensive sponsorship deals, her own calendar, a reality show on the Golf Channel in 2005, and appeared on the Celebrity Apprentice in 2009.

Visit Natalie Gulbis Website

Fans may remember that PGA player Camilo Villegas posed nude in the ESPN 2010 Body issue.

WGT partner Golf Digest Canada has a special offer for WGT players in Canada...

Golf Digest Canada has launched GDC Digital, a new online magazine for golf fans in Canada, including global golf news as well as articles about golf courses, golf equipment and golf tournaments in Canada.

For WGT players only, Golf Digest Canada is waiving the first year subscription price for GDC Digital (a $24.95 value) and also including the free Golf Digest TIPS email newsletter. 

Plus, one lucky person will win a full golf outfitting from NIKE Canada, which includes free real-world NIKE drivers, woods, irons, balls, bag, shoes and clothes! 

Sign Up Free for GDC Digital & NIKE Contest

* Offer from Golf Digest Canada to residents of Canada only.

An exciting finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this weekend. The two greatest golfers over the the past 20 years, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, were paired together in the final round at Pebble Beach, with Mickelson coming from behind to win the tournament.

Mickelson started the day at -9 but had 1 eagle, 6 birdies and 0 bogeys for a 64 and the victory. Woods started at -11 but went in the opposite direction, shooting a 75 with 2 birdies and 5 bogeys. Mickelson excelled in all facets of the game (driving, chipping and putting) while Woods was mainly hurt by bad putting, missing 5 putts within 5 feet, and ultimately finishing in 15th place.

Mickelson and Woods have been paired together in the final round 5 times in the past 5 years, with Mickelson beating Woods every time. However, their liftime head-to-head record is an even 13-13 with 4 ties. This is Mickelson's first win of 2012, with 40 career victories (and 4 majors) on the PGA Tour, moving him to #9 all-time. Note that Woods is #3 all-time with 71 victories (and 14 majors), making them the only active players in the Top 10 for Career Victories.

Third-round leader Charlie Wi, started off with a double-bogey and struggled with a 72, but finished his round with three straight birdies to recover for second place, which is his fifth second place finish with no wins on the PGA Tour. Wi had a 3 shot lead after the third round, but joins Kyle Stanley and Spencer Levin as other players this year who have lost a big lead on Sunday.

In the amateur competition, it was a tie between Gregg Ontiveros (paired with pro Brian Harman) and JP McManus (paired with Padraig Harrington). New England Patriot coach Bill Belichick (paired with Ricky Barnes) finished 3rd, comedian Ray Romano (paired with Steven Bowditch) finished 5th, Barclay's CEO Skip McGee (paired with Phil Mickelson) finished 6th, and Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo (paired with Tiger Woods) in 17th.

Full PGA Tour Leaderboard

Challenging weather conditions today of wind and rain effected player performance during the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament, yet South Korean Charlie Wi still leads the group by 3 shots. In fact, Wi was the only leader to shoot under-par today, following his 61 at Monterey Peninsula Country Club (MPCC) with a 3-under 69 at Pebble Beach.

Vijay Singh vaulted into a tie for third place with his second straight 4-under 68, and he will play the MPCC golf course on Saturday.

Despite the weather, Phil Mickelson tied for the best golf round of the day, hitting a 5-under 65 at MPCC to reach 7-under and a share of eighth. He will join the celebrity field at Pebble Beach on Saturday.

Tiger Woods appeared to hurt himself on the eighth hole at MPCC. It turned out to be just a "stinger" and the pain did not last long, nor did it affect the rest of the round. Woods is tied for 17th at 6-under after shooting his second straight 68, this time at MPCC. He will play Pebble Beach, where he has a career scoring average of 68.6 in nine previous rounds at this event.

Defending champ D.A. Points matched Mickelson's 5-under 65 at MPCC to reach 5-under for the tournament.

Visit WGT for daily updates on the AT&T Pro-Am tournament.

TV Schedule for AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

New Zealander Danny Lee, South Korean Charlie Wi, and Dustin Johnson tied at nine-under for the early lead in the first round of the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament today, as Tiger Woods made a solid start. Lee had two eagles and a flawless nine-under-par 63 at Pebble Beach Golf Links while Wi opened with a nine-under 61 at Monterey Peninsula.

American Ken Duke covered the back nine in a record eight-under 28 at Pebble Beach to complete a 64. Duke and American Brian Harman are right behind Lee, Wi and Johnson on the leaderboard.

Tiger Woods, making his first appearance on the U.S. circuit this year, finished with four under today.

Other notable scores today include Vijay Singh (-4), Jim Furyk (-3), Padraig Harrington (-2), Martin Laird (-2), Ian Poulter (-1) and Mike Weir (E). 

Visit WGT for daily updates on the AT&T Pro-Am tournament.

Full Leaderboard for AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

TV Schedule for AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

The 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am has been an institution on the Central Coast since Bing Crosby launched the event in 1937, and is played on Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula Country Club. 

The first round of the AT&T Pro-Am starts on Thursday, February 9, at 8:00am PT, although events leading up to the first round are already under way. Practice rounds continue through the week and the charity golf 2012 3M Celebrity Challenge took place earlier today. Celebrity golf players participating in the 3M Celebrity Challenge include returning champion Bill Murray, San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Cain, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, actors Don Cheadle, Andy Garcia, George Lopez, Ray Romano and Josh Duhamel and musicians Huey Lewis, Kenny G and Michael Bolton.

Tomorrow, 2011 AT&T Pro-Am champion D.A. Points will return to defend his crown (Points partnered with Murray for the tournament in 2011). Also participating is Tiger Woods, who is returning to Pebble Beach for the first time since he won the AT&T Pro-Am in 2000. Returning champions Dustin Johnson (back-to-back wins in 2009 and 2010), Davis Love III, and Phil Mickelson will also participate in this year's tournament.

PGATour.com experts weigh in on their top picks for this year's AT&T Pro-Am with Woods, Mickelson, Johnson, John Huh, and Rickie Fowler leading the pack. To see all the expert picks, visit: http://www.pgatour.com/2012/tournaments/r005/02/07/picks.attpebblebeach/index.html

Stay tuned for more updates from the AT&T Pro-Am here at WGT!

Check-out the special holiday offers on flowers, treats and jewelry just in time for Valentine's Day. Buy your gifts online thru WGT and get yourself free WGT Credits.

Here are some examples of the available offers...

• FTD - Save up to 50% on flowers and get 1,750 WGT Credits
• ProFlowers - Save up to 50% on flowers and get 1,250 WGT Credits
• Shari's Berries - Hand-dipped berries from $19.99 and get 1,250 WGT Credits

See All Valentine's Offers

As a reminder, use your free WGT Credits to upgrade your clubs, helping to improve your scores, win more matches and have more fun!