Todd Fischer finishes 16th at Pebble Beach Todd Fischer finishes 16th at Pebble Beach (February 18, 2005)

Says celebrity Bob Lurie was a good partner
by Cathy Jetter

With a crowd of family, friends and fans watching every swing, Pleasanton's Todd Fischer finished last week's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am tied for 16th place. His four-round total of seven under earned Fischer a $67,310 paycheck and his second top 25 finish in three weeks.

"The AT&T is a great tournament for me," said Fischer. "It's close to home so I get to see a lot of people I care about, the format is fun and the courses are some of the best we play all year."

In fact, Fischer has played Pebble Beach, Spyglass and Poppy Hills often enough to feel quite at home on these three tracks, which host the tournament originally known as the "Crosby Clambake."

"A lot of the big amateur and college tournaments are held on those courses," explained Fischer. "I've gotten to experience a lot of competitive events there - it's definitely an advantage."

In spite of some pretty extreme weather fluctuations - shorts and T-shirt warm on Thursday, parkas and umbrellas needed the rest of the time - Fischer played consistently, and never let his game get away from him.

"I didn't make all the putts I could have," he recalled. "But I kept my focus, and I had a lot of fun."

Fun is the name of the game at the AT&T, where celebrity golfers team up with the touring pros for three days of best-ball competition, before Saturday's cut to the 60 low pros and 25 low teams. While Fischer was successful individually, his team's best-ball score was not quite good enough to get his partner, former Giant's owner Bob Lurie, back for the final day of play.

"We looked OK after Friday's round," Fischer stated. "We just didn't keep up with the rest of the field on Saturday."

Fischer's friend and fellow Pleasantonian, Joel Kribel, had no trouble making the team cut. He and partner Barry McCollam, an Irish businessman, won the team event by four strokes; Kribel shot eight-under to tie for 11th individually.

Fischer said that while he is sure Lurie was disappointed to miss the cut, "I couldn't have asked for a more supportive partner. I feel fortunate to have played with Mr. Lurie. He is a real gentleman and a true lover of this game." Fischer smiled, and added, "I hope we'll get to give it another try next year."

For now, Fischer is off to Pacific Palisades and the Riviera Country Club for the tour's final West Coast event, the Nissan Open. After that, the tour heads to the East Coast for the remainder of the season. The next chance to watch Fischer play live without a cross-country plane ride will come in August, at the Reno-Tahoe Open.

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