Some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment played the storied Pebble Beach Golf Links during the 2018 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am celebrity golf tournament, February fifth through eleventh. Known as one of the most exciting charitable golf events on the PGA TOUR, this year’s tournament provided plenty of entertainment and a bit of history. Hosted on three of the Monterey Peninsula’s premier golf courses: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course, and Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shore Course, large crowds and millions of television viewers watched as the final round took place.
Spectators and celebrity fans were in for quite a treat as Larry Fitzgerald, the Arizona Cardinals wide receiver, along with his playing partner PGA pro, Kevin Streelman, won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The pair demolished the field by 7 strokes with a 12-under final round.
“It was me being completely out of my comfort zone, not being a professional, like just dealing with what comes. I think that’s what made it special for me,” Fitzgerald told reporters, via Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group, and Around the NFL podcast. “This game is so difficult. And I think you even have more respect for the guys who win and play consistently at a high level because this is the hardest game out there.”
As America celebrates Black History Month, Fitzgerald became the first African-American amateur to win the prestigious event which began in 1937. According to the Cardinals official website, the NFL wide receiver is also the first athlete to win the Pebble Beach Pro-Am since former Miami Dolphins Quarterback Dan Marino won in 1998. Fitzgerald, who is entering his 14th NFL season since being selected by the Cardinals in the 2004 NFL Draft, has become one of the franchise’s all-time greatest players, and a national face for a team.
Off the field, the avid golfer is dedicated to giving back to the community through his foundation, the Larry Fitzgerald First Down Fund. According to an interview in Business Jet, “Fitzgerald, who spends much of his free time doing philanthropic work, learned about giving back from his grandparents and mother. To honor his mother, who died of breast cancer in 2003, he has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to support breast-cancer survivors and research. His First Down Fund makes a weekly donation to a fan-nominated charity, and he has recently made grants totaling $100,000 to schools, to fund books, science supplies, and field trips, and to purchase technology. Additional donations have provided vision care to those who otherwise would not have access to it.”
The Larry Fitzgerald First Down Fund hosts several exciting charitable events such as the annual Larry Fitzgerald Celebrity Softball Game Weekend, and the Larry Fitzgerald Charity Golf Classic.
To learn more about Fitzgerald’s foundation, visit his website Larryfitzgerald.com.