By Jon Chown
Buster Posey
PEBBLE BEACH — Thousands of Bay Area sports got a close up view of every trophy the San Francisco 49er and Giants have won, and saw some of their heroes face off for a few holes of golf Tuesday at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
It was the second day of practice for the event and featured the annual Chevron Shootout, which pits members of San Francisco’s baseball and football teams against each other. This year featured Coach Bruce Bochy, Buster Posey, Javier Lopez and Matt Cain of the Giants and 49ers legends Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Dwight Clark, Brent Jones and Harris Barton.
The 49ers players won the event, which distributed $100,000 between a number of charities. The seven champion.
Young, a newcomer to the event, said he was not used to people watching him play. He described himself as a “hacker” who plays the course at Stanford and the Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course. He said that nobody really pays attention to him there or even notices the NFL Hall of Fame quarterback.
“Unless you’re Bill Gates or somebody like that, nobody is going to care,” he said.
But 49er fans still cared. One asked Rice if he could Young’s autograph for him. The NFL’s top receiver of all time called his old QB over. “Hey Steve, come over here!”
Jerry Rice
Rice had a lot to say during the short five-hole round, among them dispelling the rumor that he used Stickum, a substance banned by the NFL. “I was misquoted,” he said of the growing controversy. “I used adhesive spray — not Stickum.”
The two teams’ trophies were probably as big an attraction as the players or the golf on Tuesday. Lined up behind ropes, they sort of glowed they were so shiny. Fans lined up to look and have photos taken with them.
“They are so cool,” said 10-year-old Tommy Dutton of San Jose, who came down with his parents to see the trophies. “I would like to hold one of those some day like the players do after they win.”
Wednesday is the final practice day, with the 3M Celebrity Challenge highlighting the day. Clint Eastwood
Bruce Bochy
and Bill Murray are both scheduled to participate in the event, along with other celebs including Andy Garcia, Chris Berman, Huey Lewis, Ray Romano and Clay Walker.
Tournament play begins Thursday. Daily tickets to the tournament cost $60 at the gate and a weekly ticket costs $125. Free shuttle services are available to get in and out. Go to www.attpbgolf.com for more information.