'I was playing the man'

Oberholser learns valuable lessons in defeat at Pebble Beach

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (Ticker) -- It's tough when you're matched up with the second-best player in the world -- even if you're meeting him in your back yard.

Arron Oberholser found that out Sunday in the final round of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Born not too far down the coast in San Luis Obispo, Oberholser started the day tied for the lead with Vijay Singh at 13-under par.

By day's end, Oberholser had fired a 4-over 76 and Singh was running away with the tournament, eventually posting a 3-under 69 for a winning 72-hole total of 16-under 272.

"I learned that I have got to pay more attention to the golf course and less attention to the No. 2 player in the world when I'm playing," Oberholser said. "And I learned I do have the game to compete out here.

"I absolutely played about the worst golf I could possibly play and I still finished tied for fourth."

Oberholser accepted the outcome as a learning process and said he looks forward to his next event.

"There are a lot of things that could have gone even more wrong today than they did," he said. "I was pleased with the way I hung in there and I'll get a victory out here, and probably more than one. So I've just got to be patient with myself."

Oberholser attended San Jose State and turned professional after graduating in 1998. He played on the Nationwide Tour in 2002 and won $319,883 to finish second on the money list and earn a spot on the PGA Tour.

"I didn't hear much from the gallery," he said. "Occasionally, I heard, 'Go, Spartans; Go, San Mateo; Go, San Jose,' but most of the time I was hearing, 'Go, Vijay; Go, Vijay,' all day long.

"It was kind of ticking me off a little bit. Hey, man, I'm the hometown guy. What's going on here? He played great and, I mean, they were just cheering good golf."

Oberholser began his rookie year on the PGA Tour by making eight consecutive cuts, including his only two top-10s. He ended the season with $619,865 to finish 105th on the money list and maintain his exemption.

While he he has been around a couple of years now, Oberholser still is learning. He learned from one of the best Sunday.

"I think starting off real well was on my mind," he said. "I mean, the man snap-hooked his first three drives and made birdies. That's a wake-up call. I mean, I hit straight down the middle on the first three holes and got par, par, par. He is hook, hook, hook, birdie, birdie, birdie. It's hard to compete with that."

Oberholser hung in there, just three shots off the lead when he double-bogeyed the eight hole.

"I thought if I could hit a good shot on 8 and give myself a chance for birdie, if I could get a putt to drop, I would be fine," he said. "But my putting went south on me today.

"I wasn't focused on my own game. I wasn't playing the golf course. I was playing the man."

Oberholser admitted he was uncomfortable in his surroundings Sunday, even though he was in his back yard.

"It was just a situation that I was at this magnitude, at this level that I'm completely unfamiliar with," he said.

"It was my first time and it was exciting, cool to stand on the 18th green and shake hands with the guy that just won. Pretty neat. Makes me hungrier to work harder."

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