AT&T: Pace still slow, but no longer glacier like

Apparently the reduction in the size of the field at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am served its purpose, improving the pace of play in a tournament that a year ago had rounds extending well beyond six hours.

The field was reduced from 180 pros and 180 amateurs to 156 of each in an effort to eliminate gridlock. Ollie Nutt, president and CEO of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, told the Monterey Herald that it resulted in "a 30 to 40-minute improvement."

The fastest groups finished in four hours, 45 minutes, Nutt said. The slowest took five hours, 43 minutes. The latter is still unacceptable, but a marked improvement.

"On Saturday, we had already figured out the cut at 4:12 p.m.," Nutt told the newspaper. "It was very noticeable."

-- John Strege