ESPN’s Chris Berman provides the winning putt, comedian George
Lopez provides the laughs
“I love you, Andy!” yelled comedian George Lopez to Andy Garcia, seconds before Garcia teed off on the first hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links Wednesday morning.
“That’s what you told me last night!” replied the Ocean’s Eleven actor.
And with that, the 3M Celebrity Challenge began.
With nary a dull moment, 12 celebrities kept a Pebble Beach gallery on the opposite side of the golf-spectator spectrum Wednesday, as six teams competed for $29,000 in charitable donations.
Although Lopez was designated the unofficial showman to the day, it was ESPN’s Chris Berman that perhaps stole the show.
Berman’s two-foot putt on the picturesque 18th hole at Pebble Beach netted him and his partner, saxophonist Kenny G, $26,000 to charities they were representing.
“I can play the game as long as it’s two feet,” Berman said afterward. “You should see me on the loop-de-loop and the windmill.”
Berman was representing Literacy Volunteers of Greater Waterbury (Connecticut), which teaches adults to read, write and speak English, while Kenny G’s half will go to Project MuszEd, an organization that teaches music to youths.
Berman’s clutch putt, though, which was at first delayed when Garcia, Lopez and musician Huey Lewis huddled around the sports anchor in an effort to perhaps throw him off his game (they even crossed his path toward the cup – a golf no-no), was met with plenty of fanfare.
The six teams played five holes at Pebble Beach, and after the $3,000 first hole was won with a par-4 by Lopez and his partner, actor Luke Wilson, no team was able to cash in on holes no. 2, 3 and 17. The money carried over to the 18th as a result.
If Berman had botched the two-footer, the money would have been carried over to a playoff round.
Of course, the weather cooperated with the golfers, so forcing them into another hole at Pebble Beach probably would have been a winnable argument.
“We snuck ahead of God today,” Berman said of the nice weather. “And thank God (the putt) went in.”
Celebrity teams of Andy Garcia and comedian Kevin James, actors Carson Daly and Kevin Costner, musician Huey Lewis and actor Eric Close, and actors Chris O’Donnell and Don Cheadle each earned $1,000 to their respective charities.
The AT&T National Pro-Am, which began on Thursday, will continue through the weekend. On Friday, the second round will begin at 8 a.m.
