Since the tournament founder was crooner of some note, it’s logical through the decades there’s always been plenty of room for singers in the celebrity field at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
But just as the tournament today reaches retirement age when its 65th edition begins, so has retirement affected legions of players more well known for their voices than driving distances or precise putting.
Bing Crosby began fraternity of singers when the AT&T began in 1947. And more than six decades later, long gone, of course, are Dean Martin to the 1980s singer-golf trio known as Jake Trout and the Flounders. 
Now getting top billing, the tournament’s veteran singing fraternity includes Christian (Toby Mac) to nightclub-oriented (Michael Bolton) singers, country music (Clay Walker) stars to a golf fanatic, crossover rock-country headliner, Darius Rucker.
At age 44, Rucker is the same age as Crosby when the tournament formerly known as the Crosby Clambake moved from Los Angeles to the Monterey Peninsula. And just like it was for Crosby, golf for Rucker is a microcosm of life.
“Everybody knows how I feel about golf,” Rucker, the now solo artist and long-time frontman for Hootie and the Blowfish, said Wednesday prior to the Celebrity ShootOut at Pebble Beach. “Golf is my thing. It’s the only real hobby I have.”
A native and ambassador for his hometown state of South Carolina, Rucker’s home course is Bull’s Bay, a private course in Awendaw, S.C. The singer sponsors a yearly college invitational tournament at the course. It’s one of his Rucker’s several connections to golf, including financing a junior golf program.
As a golfer, Rucker has played to a six-handicap a few years ago, but now says he’s a 12. He has a career-best par 72.
“I’m looking forward to it,” said Rucker of his brief time at Pebble Beach. “My game is not at highest level it’s ever been. I had to take a couple of months off. I didn’t play for a while. So I’m trying to get it back together.”
Although he’s play in the celebrity pro-am in previous years, he’s not playing this year because of a concert commitment tonight in Atlanta.
Rucker’s short time at Pebble Beach had a charitable purpose. In conjunction with the PGA Tour and Capitol Nashville, Rucker to record a single called, “Together, Anything’s Possible.” It’s the same name as the PGA Tour’s motto.
Proceeds from the single’s sales, which Rucker was scheduled to perform Wednesday night at a peninsula gathering, will benefit his charity, and will continue Rucker’s long relationship with the PGA Tour and a vast array of golfing friends.
Despite his brief time at Pebble Beach, Rucker’s visit prompts thoughts of his appreciation for the game and situations it’s presented. The singer, for example, considers John Daly “a brother.” He played at Tiger Woods’ wedding and for Frank Sinatra’s 80th birthday.
As for Pebble Beach, it’s produced its memories.
“The thing that’s just great,” said Rucker “well, I love to be here, hitting the shots and remembering where Tiger or somebody hit his ball. You might be close to that, but you’ve started 150 yards ahead of where they started. Those moments are great.”
Like most golfer in the AT&T, the first hole at Pebble Beach has its own circumstances. Actors, musicians and pros alike, all used to performing before massive crowds, having opening hole concerns.
“The very first thought I have when I play Pebble every year at this tournament is that if you’re going to miss it, miss it right,” Rucker said. “You don’t want to hit those right along the line.
“I tell them all the time, ‘You know, I’m like a 12, right.’ That’s my biggest scare. But I think the great thing about tee No. 1 — now I’m going to jinx it — but I’ve always hit a pretty good tee shot.”
(Originally published in the Monterey County Herald, 2/10/2011.)